Arthur's Awakening - PART2
by Kazuki Matsuoka
Summary: Merlin and Arthur have reunited with Gwaine, Gwen, Elyan, Leon, Lancelot, Percival and Gaius, Camelot flourishes and Merlin is yet to give birth to their daughter- Maree. A bright and happy future is set for them, but, how long will their future stay happy?
1. Chapter 1 - The Rising Sun

Arthur's Awakening PART 1: s/12014508/1/Arthur-s-Awakening-PART-1

The sun rose upon a beautiful ancient city of Camelot, but it rose upon the modern day with Arthur as its King. Armoury, swords and chainmail were kept and candles were used by night. Even the Queen Elizabeth lived there as a part of the friendship between the modern world, and there were many modern changes with an additional extension of the castle but in the medicinal traditional way and magic users flourished from all over the land with Merlin as their teacher, Gwenivere is the head of the court and Arthurs Knights followed among the round table.

Two worlds had combined, the old and the new. And tourists would come in everyday just to explore give their love and respect. Merlin and Arthur would come out to do a tour for the new people that come in among the people that lived in Camelot.

"Come on that's enough" Merlin gestured his old self when he was terribly younger.

"What?" Arthur said.

"You've had your fun my friend" Merlin smiled as Arthur approached him, "Do I know you?"

"I'm Merlin" Merlin reaches out his hand to shake the strangers hand but Arthur doesn't shake the hand. "So I don't know you" Arthur stopped in front of him, "Yet you called me….friend"

"That was my mistake"

"Yes, I think so" Merlin agreed, "Yeah. I'd never have a friend that would be such an ass"

Arthur snorted, "Or I would be so stupid. Tell me Merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees?"

"No" Merlin gave a straight answer. "Would you like me to help you?" Arthur smiled at him.

"I wouldn't if I were you"

"Why? What are you going to do to me?" Arthur sniggered. "You have no idea"

"Be my guest" Arthur then puts out his arms wide, gesturing to the crowd around him. "Come on, come on. Come oooon"

Merlin then attempts to punch Arthur who grabs his arm and twists it round to his back, holding him. "I could put you into jail for that" Arthur said.

"Who do you think you are, the King?" Merlin asked. "No, I'm his son. Arthur"

With a chuckle from the audience, Arthur let Merlin go. "And this is how we met" Arthur announced. He didn't want to damage his partner who is nine months pregnant with a huge budging belly. Merlin had been complaining about his back lately so he has been going easy on him. During Merlins extra rest he would have one of his Knights guard him.

"I'm surprised too, he was a real prat way back then. Not like the ancient and glorious King that the legends tell you" Merlin said, which made Arthur glare at him and the audience laughed.

"Shut up Merlin" Arthur responded. "See? He's rude too" Merlin added, Arthur gave him a further glare.

"Anyways. Today is December the 25th, the day I pulled out Excalibur from the stone. Although a certain someone made the stone part up and made me believe it" Arthur rolled his eyes at Merlin, Merlin laughed quietly to himself. "We hope you enjoy the museum, thank you" Arthur bowed.

"FOR THE LOVE OF CAMELOT!" The audience roared and cheered with applause. This always made Arthur and Merlin smile. After this tour they were taken back inside the castle by the guards.

"Merlin, are you alright?" Arthur asked his partner. "Yes, just a little dandy" Merlin said, "Thank you, I'm sure that we will safely bring birth to Maree so I am a bit excited on the side"

"Gaius says that she is very healthy, so we may have a beautiful little girl in our hands soon" Arthur assured him, putting his hands on Merlin's carefully looked after stomach and they feel a lick landing on his hands. They both chuckled, "She's quite active lately"

"Then we better be ready" Arthur then leans in to kiss Merlin, "I have some papers to do, be careful and I will see you soon to get ready to bring her back to the world"

"I will have Gaius ready and waiting. Gwen wants to help as well" Merlin nodded. "Good. The more help, the better. I will see you later"

"See you Arthur" Merlin gave Arthur a hug before they separated ways. For a while he decided to go to the great hall to meet up with the Knights along with their new recruits. It had been months since they started taking up new knights and training them with Lancelot being their mentor to keep the old traditions alive.

"Merlin!" Gwaine and the others called out to greet him. "You are getting quite big!" Lancelot commented. "It's rather exhausting actually, the more I walk the more tired I get" Merlin stretched out his back, "Gaius has been helping me with some stretching routines"

"Aren't you due soon? We have celebrations tonight" Percival asked. "I won't be attending them tonight I don't think, I have preparations to bring Maree back into the world tonight, if not tonight, then I don't know how long I am going to be in bed for"

"Well then, best of luck Merlin" Elyan said. "Thank you everyone" Merlin really appreciated the support he received throughout the whole process. "How are the recruits going?" he asked.

"Modern day recruits are actually better than we thought. Though the process of becoming a knight isn't as easy way back in our time. It is a tough role to gain"

"Quite funny isn't it? They have it easy in some ways, but we have some things that are tough for them"

They all agreed. "Yes, it is strange"

"When are able to come to the tavern with us after birthing Merlin?" Gwaine asked. "When I am finished breast feeding" Merlin replied, "Beer is not good for a child". Yes, the ancient tavern was revived a month ago and Gwaine owns the place so he doesn't owe anyone any money anymore. No more receipts for Arthur which was a huge relief because of his sudden interest in different kinds of alcohol after he came out of the lake and ended in a situation when he couldn't pay for anything. Other than that Gwaine was worse of a drunk than centuries ago.

"Oh I see" Gwaine was in disbelief. "We will be waiting for you"

Suddenly Merlin felt a huge release of water flush out of his body, his eyes widened and the Knights backed away at the sudden pool of water below Merlin. There was a few gasps from some of them and a silence in the entire room when all the other recruits realised what just happened. "Was that….." Gwaine started.

"I think my water just broke" Merlin whispered. "Argh!" He grabbed onto his stomach when pain hit him. "Oh god, that's painful!" He winced, eyes shutting tight and teeth grinding down hard.

The Knights then clicked and went into motion, "GET THE KING! AND GET GAIUS!" Percival yelled, Lancelot ran out for the King and Gwaine ran out to get Gaius as fast as they could which left Elyan, Leon and Lancelot to look after Merlin.

"I hope that Arthur isn't a fainter" Lancelot chuckled as he put an arm around one side of Merlin, Merlin chuckled back but he then groaned from the pain as Leon took the other side and they started to get Merlin to his chambers in a hurry but steadily held him. "Let's hurry"

"I'll take care of the mess" Elyan said. "Thank you, sorry for that" Merlin said.

"Think nothing of it Merlin"

Halfway onto Merlin's chambers Arthur came rushing through the hall like a mad dog, "MERLIN!" he approached his partner, "Are you alright?" Merlin nodded, "Take deep breaths just like Gaius told you"

"I am! And it isn't working you prat!" Merlin complained, painting. Then a contraption hit him, "ARGH!" He yelled in pain. "Shit Arthur, it really hurts…."

"Come on!" Arthur hurried Leon and Lancelot up, and they got him to his chambers where Gwen sat inside, once they got in Gwen immediately noticed what is going on. "Merlin!" She yelped.

"Get the warm blankets ready!" Arthur told Gwen and she went off to work without a word. Dismissing Leon and Lancelot, Arthur started taking Merlin's robes off and laid him on the bed. Then Gaius came in a hurry, "I came in as fast as I could! How is Merlin?!" He looked panicked.

Merlin was panting, sweating and taking steady breaths but clearly in a lot of pain. "Does this answer your question?" He said, "It hurts!" But Arthur was there and took his hand, "Here, squeeze it tight as you need to" He kneeled down next to him, looking calm but very nervous.

Gaius went to Merlin aid immediately, he got onto the bed and observed his situation carefully. "You are doing good Merlin, keep breathing. How many contraptions have you had?"

"Two" Merlin panted out, "How long is this going to take?"

"Depends on how much effort you put in how hard you push Merlin" Gaius said, "How is that supposed to help?!" Merlin yelped when another contraction hit him. "Here, have this" Gaius gave him a tonic for Merlin and he swallowed it immediately, "For the pain"

Arthur became quite uneasy and started stroking Merlins hair to try and calm him down a bit because at this point he is becoming quite panicked. "It's going to be alright Merlin"

"Merlin!' Gwen came back with some heated blankets and placed one on top of Merlin's belly to ease the pain further, Merlin gave out a small sigh but was still in pain. "Are you alright?" She asked. "A little…."

"Alright Merlin, it is time to push, I can see the head now" Gaius said, then Merlin turned his head to Arthur, "Don't you dare faint on me" Arthur laughed, "I will make sure of it. Now let's push"

Merlin took in a breath and heaved, pushing with all his might but it was painful to even push as well. His head threw back from the pain and squeezed Arthurs hand real tight, his other hand gripping the sheets. Arthur got a small towel and dabbed his forehead from the sweat.

"Good Merlin, keep it going" Gaius encouraged Merlin to push even father. Merlin pushed but the pain only increased, the more he pushed the more pain hit him. "Her head is out" Gaius said, and Merlin was already exhausted.

"Poor darling, you can do it Merlin" Gwen went over and held his other hand. "Thanks Gwen" then he turned to Arthur who is bright red in the face and looks like he has a battle of his own.

"You aright Arthur?" He asked. "Yes, just trying not to faint" Arthur shuddered. Merlin smiled, "Hold on" He then pushed even further with all his might, a large groan of pain coming out of his mouth as his head bent back into the pillow. "Argh, Arthur, this is so painful…." Tears started to emerge from Merlin's eyes. Arthur wanted to soothe him so he brought his lips to kiss him, hopefully to distract him from the pain, he felt Merlin let out a heart-warming sigh as Arthur rubbed circles softly onto Merlins stomach. "Come on Merlin, you can do it. Use my magic to push harder"

Merlin smiled, and then his eyes shone gold before he could do a long big push before a squeal came from little Maree. She was finally out, Merlin sighed of relief when the pain finally left his body but more than that Gaius carefully took a hold of her and Gwen started cleaning her.

"She is a wonderful healthy baby girl Merlin" Gaius smiled as little Maree cried in his hands and Gwen gave her to Merlin when he stretched out her arms for her. "My baby" Merlin cried, driven to tears. He grabbed her gently and placed her onto his stomach to hold her, "Little Maree" Arthur moved closer to Merlin so he could put his hand on her as well. "It's okay, Papa's here" Merlin soothes her. "Sssssh" He places a kiss on her head, "Thank you so much Gaius, Gwenivere" Arthur said.

"Our pleasure" Gaius said, Gwen moved over to see the young child. "Hello little one"

Maree cried softly, "There there" Merlin soothes her, he was also crying, "You're back my little girl" he sniffed, hugging the little bundle in his arms. "I will go out to tell the Knights that everything is okay" Gwen said before going out.

"She's beautiful Merlin" Arthur said, getting a blanket and putting it over the little one. "She is, she is perfect Arthur" he said, pressing a kiss on her forehead and she settles down a bit. "There we go"

They then heard some cheers out the door, must be the knights. Arthur smiled. "Phoo, I almost fainted for a moment there"

Merlin honked Arthur's nose, "Dollop head"

"I'll clean up Merlin, you should rest" Gaius said, "Keep her close, she will know your scent by now" And he was right, Maree was breathing and she had fallen asleep on Merlin's chest up close.

Once Gaius finished cleaning up Arthur put some blankets over Merlin so he can let them both rest. "When you feel better we can take a bath to clean up. I'm going out to see the knights alright?"

"Okay, they can come in if they want to" Merlin accepts a kiss from Arthur before he leaves. Shutting the door after himself, he greets the knights outside.

"How is Merlin?" Lancelot asked, the others eager to find out. "He's tired but he and the baby are happy and healthy"

"That's wonderful news Arthur! So Gwen told us that you have a beautiful baby girl?" Elyan asked.

"Yes, would you like to come in and see her?"

They all nodded in agreement, "Come in then" And Arthur opened the door, and everyone came straight in. "Merlin!" Gwaine said, Merlin lifted his head. "Guys"

They all awed at the little human being in Merlin's arms, "She's a beautiful little one"

"Well done Merlin, you did it"

The sunset rose lit up the room through the window, "Beautiful sunset" Elyan said, and he opened the window.

Soon suddenly butterflies started to fly in and gather before landing softly on Merlin, Arthur and little Maree. "Magic" Arthur gasped softly, "They know she's born"

Merlin appreciated the presence of the butterflies and Maree squirmed a little as their wings touched her head. And then they noticed, that the butterflies gathered on top of their swords as well as they shone against the sunlight.

The moment couldn't get any better.

"Arthur, are you crying?" Gwaine asked. Then Merlin looked at him in surprise to see a King with tears rolling down his face. He didn't notice he was crying but his heart was filled with emotion. Merlin grinned at him.

"Shut up Merlin"


	2. Chapter 2 - Maree's Disappearance

Six months after little Maree's birth, Merlin started to work again along Arthur's side, also bringing a small one with them as well. They weren't sure if she could remember anything about her past life or if she may have any magic but they found that she would sneak off sometimes to see the knights and they would play around with her, but sneaking off make Merlin very upset as a parent and would freak out the second she wasn't in his sight. There were some times when she would be found in the _tavern_ , giggling and playing with Gwaine and Lancelot some nights- and Merlin was shocked when he found her in there, he couldn't find her anywhere and his thoughts lead to the tavern, there was absolutely no way she would be there as he never been there himself while saving the Kings royal arse. But she was and that was mind boggling. Despite the fact that she had no evidence of memory or magic, she learned how to crawl and walk pretty fast than other girls her age, at some points Merlin feared that she was becoming more like _Arthur_ rather than himself but Arthur disagreed because of the tavern fact. Merlin is never able to convince Arthur that he was never even there and that he doesn't drink as much as Gwaine does.

They noticed that little Maree had to learn obvious things again such as learning to speak and move around, tying shoes and other physical things. She was in a new baby body now and she would take some time to adjust to the small muscles but over time as she grows and when she is big enough, she learns straight away and has no problems in doing things. When Merlin was not taking care of her he would leave her with Gaius as long as she didn't touch anything, and she didn't. She was quiet as a mouse and would stare at Gaius's books, sometimes even read them, no matter how hard they were for her age. She wasn't like the other children that would be eager and curious 24/7, she happened to be conscious of her own mental state so Arthur and Merlin were grasping hope that she may remember her old life. Gaius thought so too, so one day they tried something.

"Alright little Maree, let's use your little fingers to make numbers alright?" Gaius said, looking at the girl that sat on his table, she nodded. Meanwhile Arthur and Merlin were watching her from the side.

"Let's start with the easy things alright? Now, what is two plus two?"

With some effort she managed to get four fingers up, "That's right little one! Brilliant, now what about two divided by six?"

She put up three fingers, all done without stopping to think. Gaius looked up at Merlin and Arthur who were gaping, "I think she remembers"

"Let's try this, everyone knows this one" Merlin went down and sat next to Gaius to face Maree, "What is twelve times twelve?"

She put up a finger, then four fingers and did it again. "One hundred and forty four!" Arthur gasped. "You're kidding!". "That's our girl" Merlin praised her and she gurgled back at him in response. "You'll learn how to speak in time when you grow some good teeth"

"She is deaf remember, so she relies on magic to provide her hearing. So maybe she has little magic, not enough to speak to us" Arthur said out of thought and Maree nodded. "Ah I see"

"We can have a little visit to the crystal caves, maybe that will help her a bit. And take a walk in the forest after that, she really likes the natural magic around Camelot" Merlin suggested. "It may be because of age" Gaius said.

Merlin sighed, "If my mother was here, I'd ask her when I started throwing pans across the room with magic"

Arthur chuckled, "You did mention that your magic started before you could walk or talk"

"That's why we are a little concerned about her magic?"

"Yes. Perks of being a parent" Merlin groaned, "But I think that a trip to the Crystal Cave is a good idea. You have been working a lot lately, so a day off would be nice" Gaius said.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "You too Arthur, you can use a day off. You have been working yourself off nonstop since you became king" Gaius added which made Arthur's eyes light up. "Maybe you're right"

Merlin grinned at Arthur, "All right, one day. But it doesn't mean that I am letting you ditch work alright?"

"My lips are sealed" Merlin performs a zip across his lips. "But keep them open for me" Arthur replied, which made Merlin chuckle. Little Maree giggled and clapped her hands, "Don't you start little one" Merlin warned, he picked her up right into his arms and bounced her up and down a bit. "So when shall we go out?"

"What about tomorrow? My schedules clean" Arthur suggested, "Brilliant. Then we have a whole day to ourselves" Merlin agreed.

Merlin rocked little Maree in his arms that night, he usually rocked her to sleep every night and unlike other children she would sleep throughout the night without crying so she was easier to handle. Her crib was located in their own chambers opposite from where they slept. When she falls asleep in Merlin's arms both Arthur and Merlin would give her a kiss on the forehead and wish her goodnight before putting her to bed in her crib.

Arthur gave Merlin a loving look, "You are a great Mother Merlin despite the times when we had rather big banters and arguments"

"And when we argued, everyone else seem rather happy"

Merlin snorted, "I think it's because of our relationship. They fear that we have changed, so when we banter it's like when we were friends long ago, they have some relief" Arthur groaned, "Can't they just be happy for us?"

"It's alright, just….let them get used to it" Merlin said, looking a bit concerned. Then Arthurs face dropped, "You…don't think that we have changed dramatically do you?"

"We were friends long ago…..always friends. But now, we are together, we haven't changed our usual status between each other have we?"

"No. We definitely haven't. Remember what I said, I am your servant and I wouldn't change a thing" Then they halted, "Have we?"

Merlin thought hard. "Let's question ourselves" Arthur nodded, "First…..what do we feel about each other right now?" Arthur looked at Merlin right in the eye and put his hands around his waist. "You are my life Merlin. We have a child, and right now I love you and you are my best friend and partner. In short, you are everything to me"

Merlin smiled, "I understand now. We're not boyfriends, or even married, were partners. It doesn't matter if were lovers or friends, we love each other and that's what matters and we spend our time together" Arthur smiled back, "Yes, I see that too. Then I think that takes us to the conclusion that we are soul mates"

Merlin blushed, "Really?"

"Yes" Arthur said, "Besides, Gwen knows that she isn't immortal. So she doesn't want to be with me for that very reason, because if we did, she would leave me heartbroken and lonely when she dies. That's why she wants us to stick together, and there is nothing wrong with it"

"Wow. I envy her, she thinks of you"

Arthur snorted, "At least it eases your mind" He then kisses Merlin, "We should go to bed" He murmured before his kisses trailed down to his neck, then he retreated, his face screwing up in disgust "You need a _bath_ "

"Eh?"

"You usually taste and smell better than I do, and you taste like you've been in the _stocks_ "

"That's because a certain someone sent me there after I forgot to wake you up for a meeting this morning" Merlin chuckled, "Bath? It's night, we could have a nice soak"

"I guess we could relax, you need a good scrub though" Arthur takes Merlins hand and takes him to the bath. By habit Merlin started to undress Arthur, "No, let me, Merlin. I am sure you are tired" Arthur pushes away his hands and starts undressing Merlin instead, taking off his robes first. Then he noticed Merlin blush and then he trailed his hand down to his heart, which was beating quite rapidly. "You don't need to….." He looked down a bit, advoiding his gaze.

"I know you _like_ it" Arthur bent down and whispered into Merlins ear, making him shiver as he roams his hands over Merlins body to slowly strip every piece of clothing from him. It is rather tempting, especially for Merlin who is easily flustered by the moves he makes, "Prat" He mutters.

The bath had already been drawn ages ago, nice hot water filled the tub. Merlin could feel the steam reach and make contact with his buttocks, the heat spread around his skin, once Arthur completely stripped Merlin out of his clothes, Merlin proceeded with Arthurs. Modern clothes are easier to remove than old Camelot clothes but when he bends down and starts removes his jeans, the biggest thing that he cannot ignore is that big prick of his that stands out the most. Cause, shit, it's _huge_. He remembered when Arthur was a simpleton, he wore such tight clothes just like the jeans and the first thing he noticed was how appealing that big crotch was. It was very amusing.

"Merlin, what are you grinning about?" Arthur asked in curiosity. Merlin blushed a bit, "Just…you have a big one there"

"Merlin!" Arthur gasped, looking scandalised, "And It makes me remember the time when you wore those simpleton clothes, it made it so obvious" Merlin takes his pants off. " _Merlin_ ". But Merlin was interrupted by his pick that was standing proudly, "I forget to ask you how the heck it comes up so fast like that?" He pointed out, gesturing to the obvious.

"It goes up on command" Arthur chuckled, "Like a servant?" Merlin asked. Arthur rolled his eyes, "That mouth of yours doesn't stop even in a moment like this….". Merlin laughed, "It must be saluting!"

Arthur busted out laughing. During banters, Merlin would be anything but funny, but now he actually was. But that was instantly replaced with a deep surprised groan when Merlin swallowed up the whole thing, "Wah-" he then let out a deep moan, his voice was completely silenced, Merlin was working at his own cheekbones, sucking on _him_ and it was _amazing_.

His hands grabbed onto Merlin's hair tightly the more pleasure he sent throughout his body as he sucked. His legs bucked and then almost fell backwards, once he snapped his eyes to reality, he moved himself forward to put his hands on the tub. Then he swore he felt a smile rise on Merlin's lips _"You…..you are the death of me Merlin. Where did you learn this?!"_ He thought, since he couldn't speak, his voice was unexpectedly full of moans each time Merlin sucked.

It wasn't long until he let his organism go into Merlin's mouth, Merlin immediately retreated. He coughed and spluttered, "That- tastes awful!". As much as Arthur was panting and gasping for air, he managed to reach out for a small rag and give it to Merlin, "Here" And Merlin grabbed it to spit the white liquid out. "Hold on…..the aftertaste isn't so bad" Merlin stopped spitting it out and _swallowed_. "I heard this stuff is good for you for some reason"

" _Merlin_. I always knew that you had such a rotten mouth but this….where did that come from?" Arthur managed to sit down and position himself next to Merlin. Merlin grinned, "Early internet days when people didn't know about bad ads and websites"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "So I taste nice huh?" he then smiled, then Merlin dragged him into a kiss, sharing the taste in his mouth. Merlin delved in deep so Arthur could taste his own, he cringed at first but then it eased into a passionate kiss. "Is this revenge for all of the times I've played with you?" He asked once they broke the kiss. "You are more of a prat in bed than out of it, so yes" Merlin grinned, "It doesn't matter how much we do it, my back always gets sore"

"Maybe it's because I actually train, I have good technique" Arthur smiled and Merlin elbowed him back. "So I am really not fat at all" Arthur chuckled. "Now" He guesters to Merlin's bottom half, "It's my turn".

The next day Merlin was the first one to wake up when Gwen knocked on the door. "Merlin? Can I come in?" She asked. "Yes, you can come in Gwen" Merlin called out and she came in dressed in her favourite Modern clothes. She opened the bedroom curtains to see Arthur holding Merlin in his arms, their foreheads touching, she giggled. "Good morning Merlin, is Arthur awake?"

Arthurs snoring answered her question. They laughed which made some made some disturbance to Arthurs sleep, he nudged a bit and held Merlin a bit tighter.

"Do you always have your foreheads like that?" She asked. "Yes, so we can hear each other breathing so we know that we are alive" Merlin runs his fingers through Arthur's hair. "Come on you prat, time to wake up" he taps his cheek, "Or I will have you magicked awake" And Arthur had one eye go open, "I'll make sure you won't" He said, "I have magic too, and you taught me recently how to defend myself" And shut his eye.

Merlin chuckled, giving Gwen a glance who was smiling. "There's a way that always works" he points out. Gwen only just became their personal maid to look after them both when she isn't working at the court with the Queen. So every morning has started to become more and more amusing for Merlin. "Arthur~ Time to wake up" Merlin said in a singsong, and Arthur opened his eyes to a smiling Merlin. Arthur smiled back, "Darn, that smile of yours is very infecting" he chuckled, finally awake. Then he noticed Gwen, "Good morning Gwenivere"

"Good morning Arthur" She said, "So this is your day off?"

"Yes indeed. We are going to the Crystal cave with Maree. To see to her magic, or if she will ever have any" Merlin said, getting up with a groan. "Ow…." He groaned, Arthur lifted a hand and massage it to soothe the pain. But then Merlin uttered a spell and let out a bit of relief before standing up to go and get dressed behind the screen.

"You alright Merlin?" Gwen asked. "Yes, I'll be fine, thank you for asking" Merlin dresses himself in his old servant clothes. "You'll have to wear your old clothes Arthur. If we are going to the Crystal cave, we may see my Father so we might have to dress in an orderly fashion and to not confuse him"

"Back to the old Camelot clothes I see, they are a bit itchy but we're used to it" Arthur said, "The sooner we go, the better and we will have free time for the rest of the day"

"Shall we go to a café or something afterwards for lunch?" Merlin asked as he puts his boots on.

"Yeah, but let's walk, no horses. We both know that the location of the Crystal cave is confidential so to keep low we are going to walk" Arthur said. "Alright, is it warm outside Gwen?"

"It is lovely outside" Gwen said. "Beautiful day for a walk" Then Arthur turned to Merlin, "Is that your doing?"

"Arthur, when I am happy, flowers bloom. When I am sad, it rains" Merlin explained, "Wow. That explains the weather in some ways" Gwen said, surprised because there were some days when it was storming outside and Merlin was angry and when Merlin was giggly, the weather changed in many strange ways. And when it is December, the sun becomes a very pretty colour and the sky mixes with red and purple in the afternoon.

Merlin grabbed his belt and sword to put on before coming out from behind the screen. "Come on Arthur, let's get changed" Then he went to Maree's crib, "Good morning little one"

Blue eyes met Merlin's own and she squealed happily. Gwen awed, "Isn't she sweet?"

"Would you like to hold her?" Merlin asked, "Oh, I would love to!" Gwen nodded and Merlin carefully pulled her out of her crib and gave her to Gwen to hold. "She has your eyes! Oh hello~" And Maree smiled. "She's becoming a beautiful girl Merlin"

Arthur then went behind the screen board to get changed too. "She is". "I'll get some baby food for her, her favourite. Mashed sweet potato" Merlin goes out. "That does sound nice" Gwen said, "I used to feet little Arthur carrot or some tomato"

"Did you?" Arthur said. "He didn't like tomato much, he liked bitter things"

Then Merlin came back with Maree's breakfast, "I should get you two some breakfast" She said, giving Maree back to Merlin. "Have you eaten Gwen?" Merlin asked, "Yes, thank you for asking, I shall go" She then goes out. Merlin sits down on the bed and starts feeding little Maree, "Hungry?"

Maree nodded, "Here, we have your favourite" He starts feeding her with a small spoon. Soon Gwen came in with their breakfast and Arthur started eating. "Thank you Gwen".

'No worries Arthur. Eat Merlin" Merlin lifts up his head, "Feed me something then" He opens his mouth, Gwen smiles, she picks up a fork and stabs a tomato to feed him. "Here" And Merlin eats it off the fork.

After breakfast they all brushed their teeth and got ready to walk out. Merlin held Maree in his arms but her eyes were open to the views in front of Merlin. "Let's go shall we?" Merlin said and she made a little happy noise. "Do your thing Merlin" Arthur said and he grabbed Merlins hand before they were teleported to the Crystal Cave. They appeared in front of the cave entrance so they went in, Merlin carefully carried Maree and then they were met with beautiful crystals yet again.

Maree smiled. "Remember this place?" Merlin asked and she nodded. "So how do you talk to your Father?" Arthur asked.

"Through the crystals" Merlin said, "Maybe we could find Kilgharrah in here too"

"Maybe"

Merlin and Maree then looked at each other, "Let's go then shall we?" Maree nodded and they both place their hands on one of the crystals. They waited awhile and then they heard a voice, "My son"

"Balinor" Arthur breathed, as soon as they heard him he appeared within the crystals. "You come back to see me" Balinor spoke. "And with a child"

"Arthur is here as well" Merlin said, bringing Arthur closer to him. "And well….this is your granddaughter" He introduced. Balinor gasped, "You have a daughter? What is her name?"

"Maree" Merlin said and the little girl squealed, happy to see her grandfather. "She is beautiful" Balinor looked closely at her, "She has your eyes. Who is the Mother?"

Merlin blushed, "Actually…..I am. Arthur is the Father" and Balinor gave Arthur a glance and Arthur bowed his head. "Arthur Pendragon? The King of Camelot?"

"Yes. We are what we call soulmates, we are both immortal and we want to live our lives together. We once met Maree as a warlock that Freya gave birth to, however she was our guide and gave her life to free the magic amongst the lake, the circle, and all of our friends. But she gave me her spirit and I gave birth to it, she is our daughter among Arthur and my blood"

Balinor smiled, "I know who she is, you have given her such a brilliant gift"

"Which brings us to why we are here"

"What can I do for you son?"

"How do we know if she has magic? In her past life she was able to see spirits or ghosts. The spirit realm wasn't separate to her"

Balinor chuckled, "Son, she contained Kilgharrah's magic. Now that she has her own, it will be a while before she learns how to control it"

"Kilgharrah is no longer inside her?"

Balinor shook his head. "No son, he resides with me"

"Thank you, that calms down our concerns with our daughter" Arthur bowed his head. "And…..thank you for being here for Merlin whenever he needed you when I was gone"

Balinor frowned, "It was not a good experience for Merlin. But now you are here, I leave my son in your hands. It seems that he loves you very much"

"I will look after him with my life. You have my word Balinor" Arthur assured him, Balinor gave him a nod. "Thank you"

Then Merlin's sword grabbed his attention, "Did you get a sword son?"

"Oh, Arthur made it for me. He made me a knight for all what I have done for Camelot"

"He deserves it. He is the Kingmaker of Camelot as well" Arthur added. "Well done son!" Balinor said, "It looks like a fine sword"

"Yes, I made it to suit Merlin" Arthur said, "It's quite light" Merlin added.

They continued to talk a while before they decided it was time to say goodbye, so Balinor spent some time with his Granddaughter before they left to go outside. "So, shall we take a walk Arthur?" Merlin asked.

"It's beautiful today, so why not?" And they decided to take a nice shall easy ongoing walk in the forest, birds would sing and tweet and there were no monsters to bump into. "Arthur"

"Yes?"

"I suppose that we could find some of our old tracks from 15 hundred years ago?" Merlin asked in wonder. "Maybe. That is sort of almost impossible but we will never know"

"Well, it's not like that we have claimed territories anywhere" Merlin said, which made Arthur elbow him. "Merlin!". Maree giggled. "We're not animals" Merlin grinned to himself and kept walking. "We could find…..arrows….maybe swords or shields of some sort"

"No way. I have heard that no one has found any evidence of our legend around here so I don't think we will easily find anything" Arthur disagreed. "But still, it is not impossible"

"You are right"

"What about Morgana's castle? Are there any remains of that place?"

"Oh that place? That awful cold place? Nah, there are ruins of that place now. That includes all of the other kingdoms like Cendreds"

"So Camelot is the last one standing" Arthur concluded. "Except for Buckingham Palace. But there are ruins of some kingdoms" Merlin added. "I disposed of Mordred's sword as well with Kilgharrah's help. It's gone for good"

"Good. That's what we want"

Merlin smiled at him, and they continued to walk along the forest before Maree started to squirm in Merlins arms and make worried sounds. "What is it girl? Need the potty?" He asked.

Maree nodded. "I'll be right back" Merlin said and he went to a tree to help let Maree relieve herself. Maree, even as a baby, she never dirtied a single nappy because she would warn Merlin or her guardian whenever she needed to go. Once they were finished, they came back.

"Now. Shall we go? Maybe we can go and take a nap somewhere"

"Oh yes, that would be wonderful. We can catch up on our beauty sleep" Arthur agreed, "Let's find a nice bed of grass next to a tree maybe" Arthur spoke his imagination. "Yeah, let's do that" Merlin said.

They walked for a while longer until they found the perfect spot, Arthur was very pleased and went to lay down right away and Merlin joined him. Holding Maree in his arms as they decided to nap and Arthur moved closer to hold Maree as well so they can sleep together like a family. It became a peaceful time to nap and it was so perfect with the weather. Arthur put his cape of the house of Pendragon over them both as a blanket and they both fell in a deep sleep.

Maree however squirmed as if something was disturbing her, she moved but didn't want to disturb her parent's peaceful sleep. Then she managed to slip out her parents arms and start crawling and then eventually she started to stand up and walk away from Merlin and Arthur and into the forest and to the lake of Albion but at a slow and steady pace. A bit of guilt was felt in her stomach but she walked on. Soon eventually she was gone from their presence.

Merlin however, was dreaming in his peaceful sleep and was smiling. Everything was perfect in this moment, sleeping together as a family. He felt complete, he felt himself reach out for Arthur and intertwine his fingers with Arthur's and his magic join with Arthur's own. However he couldn't feel Maree's, maybe she doesn't have magic. But it didn't matter, magic or no magic, she is normal and she is his daughter and she couldn't be any more perfect. He then put his arm around his little one, but met with an empty gap.

He moved his hands around and there was no Maree. Then he realised, his eyes shot right open. Arthur sensed Merlin's magic break and woke as well, "What is wrong Merlin?" He asked.

Merlin gasped, he pulled Arthurs cape off and saw no Maree. He felt himself panic, "WHERE'S MAREE?!" he got up and scrambled from above and below him. Then Arthur realised what was going on, "Calm down Merlin, I'm sure she has just crawled somewhere…." He started searching right away.

They scrambled to look _everywhere_ and Merlin was clearly panicking, Arthur however was baffled about what happened to her. Whether someone managed to snatch her from their hands or she wandered off. But this was terrible, she is literally gone, their daughter is missing. "Arthur….." Merlin raised his voice, clearly very upset. "Where has she gone? I had a barrier around us and everything…that only means that she walked away…"

Arthur felt his heart drop, "I don't understand…."

"Neither do I…..other than that, she is missing. Someone must have grabbed her outside her barrier when she needed some air or something…..even if she did walk away from us, I am sure that she has a good explanation for it" Merlin crouched down next to Arthur. "Merlin…..we will have to warn Camelot and make a search party for her. If we still cannot find her, we will have to warn the whole country even"

Merlin sniffed, at the verge of tears. "Oh Merlin,…" Arthur takes him into an embrace. "She's all alone and defenceless without magic out there….we have to find her. She's our little bundle of love Arthur" he broke into tears.

"Calm down, before it starts raining Merlin we have to go straight back"

"Yes. Let's go. We have to get a search party right away" Merlin strengthened up and stands up, grabbing Arthur's hand and pulls him up.

"Let's go"


	3. Chapter 3 - Mordred Rises

_Where am I…..?_

 _I feel so heavy and tired….my body feels like I have been asleep for an eternity._

 _The sun is so bright it hurts…_

 _I can't open my eyes._

 _What was the last time I did something….?_

 _Oh yes._

 _I stabbed Arthur Pendragon, and he killed me._

 _What am I feeling? A small little hand? It feels rather soft….. Rather, the softest thing I have ever felt in my life….._

 _Ah, it's a child. What a beautiful little one, and such blue eyes… it reminds me of…_

 _Emrys._

 _She has the same eyes, but a brilliant smile. She's magnificent. Yet, I can open my eyes now. But can I move?_

The little girl gurgled, but she looked a bit worried. So she touched the man's cheek to see if he was okay. Then eventually he stretched out his arms and push himself up. For a while he was in a bit of a daze before he looked around to realise that he was next to the lake, maybe he came out of it, he can't remember. Then he looked back at the little child.

"H-hello" His voice croaked, then he repeated the word, "Hello"

The girl clapped her hands and squeaked which made him smile just a little bit, "I feel like I haven't seen such a beautiful face like that for a very long time. What is your name little one?"

She opened her mouth to see no teeth and tried to make some words, "Ma riii!" She squeaked.

"Maree?" He managed to work out her name and she nodded her head, "You seem like a smart one for one so little" Maree just smiled. "Where are your parents?" He asked. And Maree felt some dread, frowning. "Oh….we can find them. You can stay with me as long you need"

He then reach out to the young one, and picks her up. "You must be cold. I'll keep you warm" he places her on his chest and uses his coat to cover and keep her warm. "It's starting to get dark. We should have some dinner, I am sure that you are quite hungry" he then used a hand to reach down for a sword but there was nothing on his belt.

"Ah. I seem to have misplaced my sword…." He groaned. "Where did it go? I cannot get some dinner now at this point. Unless if I find some fruit. How about that?"

Maree nodded, "Alright then, let's find some food to eat"

The man went out into the forest and easily found a berry bush, he squatted down and gathered some for the tiny mouth and some for himself including an apple. "Here, you must be hungry" he handed some to her and she gobbled them down.

"I haven't told you my name yet little one" He said, and Maree looked up at him from his lap.

"My name is Mordred"

Meanwhile at Camelot, Merlin was pacing down at the great hall like mad, seriously worried for his little girl. His eyes full of tears, Arthur had called all of his knights and their students to do an immediate search party for their daughter which could be the future princess of Camelot and it has been _hours_ ago.

"Merlin!" he heard Gwen's voice. And he snapped, "Gwen!"

"I have just heard what happened! Maree's missing isn't she?" Gwen asked, looking worried. Merlin nodded, "We lost her after we left the Crystal cave this morning, I haven't heard a word from Arthur's search party since"

"Oh my god" She breathed, and pulled him into a hug. "I am so sorry! I am sure that we will find her" Merlin held his tears back, "She is a strong and a beautiful girl. She will find her way"

"I hope you are right Gwen" Merlin sniffed, " _God_ , I'm sorry, I'm in shock" he took a breath that sounded like a wheeze, "My little girl…."

"Why don't you sit down Merlin? Would you like me to get Gaius?" She asked. "I know exactly how you feel as I have once been a Mother too"

"I'll….sit down…" Merlin took in a big long breath and gets a seat to sit down on, he uses most of his strength to not cry. "It's alright Merlin, it's not healthy to hold it all in"

Merlin nodded. "Now….does she have magic? Can't you trace her?"

Merlin shook his head, "She does have magic but not yet. I can't feel her at all, I can't find her at all…." He sniffed, letting his tears pour out, he grabs a handkerchief from his robe pocket and wipes his eyes.

"Oh Merlin…..I never thought I'd see you cry with a crown on your head" Gwen said which made Merlin chuckle. "Me either"

The hall doors were then opened abruptly, Arthur, the knight and their students all came in, Merlin gathered up his hope. But Arthur was frustrated, "Arthur! Have you found her?!" Merlin got up and went up to Arthur.

"I can't find her anywhere!" Arthur said, "We searched the whole of Camelot, around the Crystal cave, looked inside it and around the area we slept. She is nowhere to be found!"

"We have to make another search first thing in the morning, around the lake this time" Merlin suggested.

"We will search as many times as we need" Arthur added before he noticed Merlin's swollen face, "God you look horrible, are you alright?"

"I'm incredibly concerned and worried. I am sure we all are"

"We should get some rest. Get up in the morning and continue our search, everyone is tired and it's late" Arthur pulls Merlin into a hug and he tries to calm him a little, Merlin nodded. "We will find her, it's not impossible"

Arthur smiled, "Just like finding a sword. Come on, let's go to bed Merlin, try to ease up, it's terribly cloudy outside, I bet it is going to rain at this rate and we don't want our child to get soaked in the freezing rain"

"Alright" Merlin sniffed, holding his breath.

Mordred had set up a fire and sat close to it to keep them both warm after they had dinner, he held the small chid in his arms with his coat wrapped around her.

" _I wonder if anything happened when I was gone. I might have been gone for centuries…..because I have been asleep for a long time if I recall right, I came out of the lake of Albion after all. The Sidhe live there, so they must have been keeping my body. Arthur and Merlin may have been gone for a very long time now, so Camelot may be unaware of me. Either way, I have a choice, to go back and maybe find out where this child's parents are or do something else in this world"_ He thought, looking down at the young one.

" _Anyway, I think that I have to protect this little one until we find her parents"_

"Are you warm Maree?" he asked, and she nodded. "Good. We will go and find your parents first thing in the morning alright?". Maree surprisingly looked quite concerned, "What's wrong?"

Maree nudged and moved closer to his chest to sleep and closes her eyes. "Alright, sleep little one. I will see you in the morning" He gives her a hug.

He still felt quite wide awake, so he stayed up for a while longer. For a while he looked up to the night sky, looking as beautiful when he last saw it. _"Morgana must be long gone. She may be one of the stars now. And Kara, she must be taking care of her up there. Take care of her for me Morgana"_

He felt tears appear in his eyes before he could feel little Maree get a little warm, then he felt a little aura. And it was getting bigger and bigger, warmer and warmer. It surprised him, the little girl has _magic_. Then he noticed twigs and leaves starting to levitate all over the place. He felt personally freaked out.

"Maree…..are you a warlock?" he asked, completely surprised. _"Magic still exists! And….upon Emrys abilities, this little just might be the descendent of him! I might be holding one of Merlin's great grandchildren! This is big…..I have to know who her parents are. First, I must gather some energy for the morning. Time to sleep"_

In the morning, Merlin was the first to wake up. He grabbed Arthurs armour and sword, polished them like mad to release his emotions and brought them back up to the chambers. He got dressed and grabbed his sword to bring with him as well before going downstairs to ready some horses before he saw Arthur come down to join him, fully dressed in chainmail, cape and armour.

"When did you get up?" He asked. "An hour ago" Merlin said, "I am going to join you, I cannot just stand by the throne to look after the place while waiting for some news"

"Then who is going to look after Camelot?"

"Gwen, she has been the Queen before. She is the head of the court, she will look after Camelot"

"Alright" Arthur took a breath, "I'll ready everyone up, you talk to Gwen. The sooner we start searching, the better"

"Oh, and Arthur?" Merlin got his attention before he could leave, "Breakfast, say ah"

"Ah" Arthur opens his mouth and Merlin puts a chocolate scone in his mouth. "Ah, chocolate, my favourite" Arthur mumbled as he ate the scone.

Mordred woke with the forest around him, he found himself a tree to sleep against the night before. He thought that he would open his eyes and be in a bed that would be for a Knight of Camelot but it wasn't a dream, this was reality. There could a be new King or Queen or possibly neither, the world might be working differently now.

Ignoring his grumbling stomach he turned his attention to the small child in his arms who was giggling at his vibrating stomach. "Good morning little one"

Little Maree gurgled and he smiled back. But then he noticed a little golden bracelet on her wrist, "What is this? Gold?" he lifted up the bracelet and saw something engraved on it, surprisingly it was written in Brittonic. _"Maybe language hasn't changed"_

But then his eyes widened, the bracelet read _"Maree Emrys Pendragon"._ This must be her full name, but is this a crazy coincidence? Did Gwenivere have children? She must have, that is the only explanation for Arthur's very sur name as her own surname. But it can't be, this child is a warlock.

" _I have to find more information about this child…."_

But then he had to move when he heard shuffling of more than person approach, he moved fast and his instincts kicked in, he climbed a tree and hid within the leaves and branches which was hard work while holding a child. Hiding, he looked out to see what was coming.

 _Camelot Knights._

But the fabric of the uniform looked terribly different to the fabric he knew, it looked smoother and more comfortable. And the dragon had an outline of gold, _"Something definitely has changed. There must be a new King"_

But then he saw the leader of the group.

" _Emrys…."_

He let out a slight growl, Merlin was not only Merlin but he was wearing _different_ robes.

" _If I recall right, in the druid prophecies, Emrys is an immortal being. If I remember it right, when Arthur dies, not only he is the King, he is the once and future king. And when Albion's need is greatest, Arthur will rise again"_

He whispered a invisibility spell just in case, _"If I am right, Arthur may be alive. So what in the world is Merlin doing?"_

Suddenly he felt that Merlin could sense his magic and turned his head to find his source, luckily he couldn't find him.

" _He looks rather well for someone who has spent centuries away from a friend"_

He kept Maree close as he watched Merlin carefully. But then he almost jumped when he saw the one and only, _Arthur Pendragon._

"Merlin, have you found anything?" Arthur asked him, "No, I haven't found her. I hope that she is alright…..but I have found something"

"Something?"

"I sense someone….close…"

"You sense someone's magic? I can't feel anything"

"No, but I can. And it's giving me a strange feeling, it feels familiar….but it's also warm to the touch. It makes me think of Mordred but it can't be"

" _Arthur knows Merlin's magic"_ Mordred realised.

Arthur squinted his eyes, "Keep your senses open and your eyes peeled Merlin. Try and follow that magic you sense, it may bring us a clue to find Maree" And Merlin nodded, "It's better than nothing"

"All right, everyone follow Merlin!" Arthur called out to all of the knights. And Mordred went pale when Merlin started walking _towards_ him, he needed to run, but he can't run forever, he knew that. But he can't let them see him, and he needed to move fast.

So he jumped out of that tree and ran as fast as his legs could take him, he needed to find a place to hide and work out a plan first. Then he knew that Merlin could sense his magic going further and further away.

"Arthur, someone doesn't want to be found" Merlin said, "That just might be our guy" Arthur concluded. Then they moved fast to run after the magical sense.

Mordred found a cave not so far away and went deep inside as he could. Panting hard from all the running he put Maree down, "I have to think of a plan little one"

Maree looked up at him, _"Why don't you camouflage yourself?"_ She asked, which shocked Mordred. "You can speak in my head?"

" _Use my spirit genes, camouflage yourself with them so you will look different"_ She said.

" _But you are a child…."_

" _My spirit is 20 years of age Mordred, use your magic. Hurry, I won't tell a single word"_

That explains some things, but he could hear a bundle of footsteps approaching, he had no time, he placed a hand on the child's forehead and whispered a spell. He felt his entire physical body change, his eye colour, hair, arms, legs and body.

"Declare yourself!" He heard Arthurs voice roar, but in a strange language.

But then, here goes nothing.

He put his hands up and turned around, a sudden pause. Merlin turned his head to the side and stared at him, then he sighed. "What is your business here?" He asked.

"I found a small child…..your majesty, I think she is yours?" Mordred spoke.

Merlin and Arthur churned a bit, and they looked at each other. "When did you learn to speak our language?" Arthur asked.

"I used to work at the…uh…"

" _Kryle Castle"_

"Kryle Castle" He went along with what Maree said. "I am a knight and I have come looking for work. I found this girl near the Lake of Albion, I fed her berries, I hope she is not allergic to anything my lord"

Merlin looked at Arthur again, "No one taught any one Brittonic back in Kryle castle…."

"Correction Merlin, the last time I went there they had special lessons in teaching the language. You haven't worked there in ten years, as a knight and one of the staff I presume he would have learned from one of the staff"

"Oh"

Maree gurgled, looking quite guilty. "Maree!" Merlin looked terribly relieved, "My girl" he went to her and swooped her up. "Why did you walk away like that? You scared me…" He scolded her and little Maree frowned.

Arthur studied Mordred closely. "What is your name sir?"

"Alex" he gave a straight answer, he had already thought this one out. "I forgive you if I have done anything wrong my lord"

"No" Arthur shook his head, "Thank you, for finding my daughter and looking after her. A reward should be given, what would you like?"

Mordred thought carefully, if he can stay camouflaged like this then he can start learning about Merlin and Arthur from the inside. Besides, he has nowhere to go from here, certainly things have changed and they have already spoken a different language, if he goes out by himself, he will be completely lost.

"I grew up raised by Mother alone, she died very recently, and I want to do her proud. If you would willingly give me a position within the royal kingdom. It would make me very proud to serve you your highness, I was trained by the other knights when I grew up, I am young but I have nowhere else to go. I have come here with no belongings and no money"

Arthur started thinking and then started to have a private conversation before coming to a conclusion, "We would happily give you a position of a private bodyguard, but you must prove yourself to us first" Arthur said.

Mordred nodded, "I understand"

"We have a tournament this weekend, if you would like to join our students as one of our own, we will be happy to let you attend. If you win this tournament, you will get the position. However, if you do not, we will work out something for you"

"Thank you my lord" Mordred happily said, he felt like he was young again as a Knight of Camelot. However, he cannot trust Arthur, not for what he did to Kara, and especially Merlin.

His thoughts drained away when Maree squealed happily, her arms reached out for him. Merlin hummed as he noticed, "Looks like she likes you Alex" he chuckled. "Did you make a friend Maree?" He asked and Maree nodded.

"Do you speak English?" Arthur asked and Alex shook his head, "My mother was strict on the old customs, she didn't speak any English herself. Like a religion, she also educated me herself, we we're poor you see and Kryle Castle was the only home we had"

"Strange. We will have Merlin teach you, it is the common language used today"

"However, I am more interested in your sense of magic. It is very warm" Merlin said. "It can be a good skill to use for a bodyguards position"

Mordred's eyebrows twitched, _"I am warm? Ah I see, my hatred is self-centred, I don't expose it"_

"I know some magic, only very little though. I can speak through the mind also, very much like your little one, which is very strong magic for one so young"

Merlin's eyes lit, "Maree? Magic?!" he looked at his daughter who smiled, "Hey young warlock, you learned! I am so proud of you!" he hugged her.

" _Papa!"_

Arthur and Merlin's eyes lit up. But before Arthur could get distracted by hearing her first words, he kept his attention on Mordred, "Come Alex, we should go back. Let us go to Camelot, we should all eat a proper meal, some of us only ate small portions or haven't ate at all"

"Good idea sire. Let us depart from here"

They all got out of the cave and started walking back to Camelot.

" _Do not ask any questions, they will expect me to already know the facts"_ He thought. _"They will suspect something if I do"_

Camelot's changes shocked him, he was almost gaping at the amount of people that were walking around Camelot. And there were heaps of guards circling around Merlin and Arthur, which made him feel a bit insecure and distant from them though so close to them. People waved and crowded around the group as they all walked along.

But until they entered the castle itself he was relieved that everything was in place and all in one piece as he left it, but it was polished, cleaned, looked after. Rather, by the servants, everyone and light shone through the windows amongst people that were talking and laughing happily, then he looked behind him to see his former friends, Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival, Leon and Elyan all chattering amongst each other.

" _Just how….are they all alive? Everything has changed, people are wearing such new and different clothing. Obviously a certain amount of time has passed"_

He did his best not to act surprised and kept his act together. Arthur and Merlin thanked Mordred once again and asked Percival guide him down to the Knights guest chambers.

"We will decide where you will stay after the tournament" Arthur concluded. "Have a good day, feel free to use the training grounds today"

"Goodbye Alex" Merlin waved his hand up as he held Maree. Maree waved as well as they left, Mordred waved back to the young child.

" _Time to explore the place and make some sense of it first. To the library"_ He thought, _"If I can find a dictionary, I can use a spell to learn the language"_ And he headed there right away, he was glad that it was still in one piece and took his time to find a dictionary, finding the word "English" was not a hard challenge, and absorbed what he needed.

" _History next, anything that I can find, anything that explain to me everything I have missed on"_

He found over 50 volumes of history which surprised him, _"How many years has it been since I died? I have to find out if I just collect the information"_

His head felt terribly full by the time he finished with all of the books, _so much information._ And part of it was the Legends of Arthur Merlin, there is a _Legend._ It was almost too much to absorb, and it spoke of himself, that he _killed_ Arthur, he succeeded. But now he's back just as he thought, he is back because of Albion's greatest need. But what year of time is it?

Then he found a calendar, August 5th 2017. It's been _centuries_ since he died. Forever ago, everyone can't be alive, there must be a reason, could it have been Albion's greatest need? What about Morgana? And Maree…

" _Patience, all will come to you. Maybe Maree will give me answers, and I will be able to talk to her if I attend this tournament and succeed. And that is exactly what I will do'_

"Thank gods that Maree is alright" Merlin sighed happily, hugging Maree close in his arms. "Though that Alex person seems a bit off to me, especially about why he ran"

"Image yourself in a place without anything, a map, tablet, nothing and you are scared and confused. If you find yourself all of a sudden being chased by a crowd of Camelot Knights, of course you're going to be scared and run"

Merlin gave it some thought, "I suppose you're right. And he has magic, similar to Mordred's. Which is the strangest thing that I have ever witnessed. Keep an eye on him"

"He seems loyal, he will prove that at the tournament"

"Now. Where did you run off to young lady?" Maree turned his attention to their daughter. Maree winced, _"I am sorry Papa….I sensed the man's presence, and wanted to help"_

"You had your Papa terribly worried, not just him, myself and everyone else including Gwen too. You know better"

" _I'm sorry"_

"Other than that, we should all have breakfast" Arthur declared, "We should all take a nice rest, we all took in a certain amount of shock from our daughters disappearance" He gives Merlin an apple for him to bite.

"What about the knights? What about practise?"

"That is their decision today, we had a search party this morning. That fills up our practise, but if they want to train, they will do that on their own"

Merlin nodded, "I would take a good deal in relaxing on the grass after this, it's very relaxing"

"Don't get yourself sunburnt Merlin, you come back looking brown all over the face"

"I'll make sure of that. And I will be looking out for that Alex figure, his clothes look rather familiar. I can't help but be suspicious"

"I'll make note of that, now eat"

After breakfast Arthur decided to see how Alex was settling in, he probably doesn't know where the Knights guestrooms were but Camelot is a terribly big place, it would take hours. Thanks to Merlin's magic lessons, he could track him down.

Mordred was not far away, his hands were full of The Legend of Arthur and Merlin books, he needed to study them carefully to get more information of what happened before, during and after he died. But none of them were real, except one so he burrowed what he needed. Also, he needed to get a new cloak, Arthur and Merlin may not realise it but he's wearing the same clothes and armour that he wore on the battle of Camlan. He walked all the way to the Knight's guest rooms and put the books away in a shelf, noticing the new sword and cloak on the bedside, he put those on and put his other cloak away under the bed, hoping that no one would find it.

Then when he lifted his head, he found Arthur at the door. "How did you find the guest chambers?" he asked. "I am a fond fan of Camelot, my Mother would tell me about the Kingdom" Mordred lied.

Then he started to look quite suspicious of him, he looked at him closely and scanned him from top to bottom. Then his face relaxed, before his eyes shone _gold._

Mordred tensed up, _"Arthur has magic!"_ He felt his insides scream.

Seconds later, Arthur inhaled a sharp breath. He looked down at his sword and unbuckles his belt, letting it fall to the ground. Then he shut the door behind him.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was almost stern. Mordred tried to play innocent, "Am I doing something wrong my lord?"

"Don't play innocent _Mordred_ "

Mordred backed away. "Arthur-"

"I would like to know why you joined Morgana's side. I can understand the pain of losing a loved one but this you will have to explain to me"

Mordred felt himself loosen, "You killed her"

"Merlin begged me to give her a second chance, if you didn't know"

"What?"

"It's true, I've read his diary"

Mordred's eyes widened, "He…..what? Then…."

"I gave her the second chance, she turned it down. She chose revenge instead of mercy"

" _But…..she told me… she lied to me! Why would she lie to me?"_

Arthur watched him as Mordred's face became full of shock, "But….why?"

"Love does stupid things to you Mordred. You become blind to every single thing, now tell me. Why did you join Morgana's side?"

"Because she told me that you were just like your Father…. That you intended to kill her" He breathed, Arthur had doubts, "Then what did Merlin tell you?"

Mordred recalls back what Merlin would tell him, to not worry because Arthur will bring magic back to the land and that he is a fair a just person. He had faith in Arthur but the druids and magic users would go against him, thinking that he would never fulfil that dream. Why did he ever doubt that?

"He always thought highly of me" Arthur said, "But even though sometimes he would be cautious of you, he always wanted to try and see your best side"

Mordred nodded, "He did…"

"He blames himself for what you have become. He wishes that he could have done better in keeping Kara in hiding sometimes, so I wouldn't have died. There could have been a better outcome if he tried harder and we would all still be good friends"

" _Merlin thought of me?"_

"Therefore, I will leave you alone if you will leave me alone. Morgana is gone now because he decided the same fate as Kara did. Merlin was hoping that she would come around to be friends with us, but she didn't. Now I am going to give you a chance"

Mordred breathed again, his body clearly tensing.

"If you do not attempt to kill me in any way, which you cannot these days, then I will not touch you. In exchange, for that I will have to tell Merlin. He will be terrified when he hears this"

Mordred felt tiny at this point.

"Then I will let you enter the tournament. If you become my bodyguard, I will go to extreme measures to stay by Merlin, especially my daughter. If you want to change and fix your mistakes, you better come here in the morning at my chambers six o'clock in the morning, Gwen will meet you at seven at the door" Arthur said, his voice sounding completely serious, "You are going to guard Merlin the entire day, so I suggest that you get along with him"

"Yes your majesty" Mordred felt very low, he did something stupid and did an act that Merlin may have never forgotten, it was an entire misunderstanding and if he was to make up for it, he will have to follow Arthur like he did before. And properly this time.

"Good"

There was a moment of silence when Arthur put his belt.

"Arthur….." Mordred spoke. "Yes?"

"When you told me that I will be one of your best Knights, did you mean it?"

"I did"

Mordred breathed, "And what do you mean by Merlin being terrified?"

Arthur sighed, "Because after I died, he spent his life in grief for fifteen hundred thousand years! You killed part of his soul, and it's a terrible scar, you should have heard him crying from the nightmares he had every night! All because of your stupid actions"

"Emrys….?"

"Take off your camouflage, you almost look like my daughter, it's disgusting" Arthur scowled, "And you don't deserve to speak Merlin's name in that way, not after what you did to him"

"Arthur, I will make it up for you…..I swear" Mordred bowed down to the ground, feeling utterly horrible at this stage.

"Get up" Arthur was outraged, "You are not worthy of bowing down to my feet!" And Mordred got up immediately, let his spell go, and his true self appeared in front of Arthur. They both felt at a loss for words and Arthur looked like he was at the edge of crying.

"I will see you at training tomorrow" Arthur spoke and then he left, almost slamming the door and leaving Mordred in great loss of words.


	4. Chapter 4 - Mordred's warmth

Arthur returned to his chambers full of emotions, full of anger and sadness, he wanted to punch something for hurting Merlin. And he wanted to cry, to let the pain out. It was all too much, Mordred is here, Merlin's greatest fear is here, and he couldn't bear to see his face when he tells him, he needed to rest and take it all in before he makes his move.

Mordred however was full of guilt, he did the stupidest thing in the world. At this point, he has lost Arthur and Merlin's trust, everything. All the Knights trust too, including Gwen's.

 _"_ _What have I done to myself? I am the most idiotic person in the world…"_

Kara is gone, Morgana is gone, he was never at her side in the first place, he had some second thoughts at one point but he let his anger take over. _"Like Arthur's Father….. Arthur isn't the bad person, I am. I should have never walked away from Camelot"_

 _"_ _So, what is the first step that I should do?"_

He wiped the tears off his face and started to carefully think about this. _"What is the first thing I think I should do?"_

He got up from the bed and opened one of the drawers to find modern clothes, he changed into a long sleeved shirt, jeans and vans shoes with a belt with his shirt tucked in. He folded the Camelot cape and took off his armour, chainmail, sword and old robes to fold as well and placed them on top of each other in an orderly bunch.

He picked them up and carried them out to find Merlin and hoping that he won't bump into Arthur, he can't bear to look at him in the eye.

He found Merlin outside the training grounds sleeping upon the tall grass. He didn't want to startle Merlin but he noticed little Maree squeal happily which made Mordred smile.

 _"_ _Maree"_

 _"_ _What are you doing Mordred?"_ She asked. _"Why are you out of your camouflage?"_

 _"_ _Arthur found me out. He told me many things, I don't deserve to be in the tournament"_

 _"_ _Why? You had a dream, don't give up on it"_

 _"_ _I have caused enough pain for Merlin, I don't want to be a burden to him"_

 _"_ _Morgana was not a burden to us"_

 _"_ _I am more than that. I am not even worthy to serve Arthur anymore"_ He felt the tears fill his eyes.

"Ah, Maree. Don't move you sneaky girl" Merlin woke up when he felt her magic. Then he halted at the sight of Mordred, his eyes went wider than anyone has ever had. "This…..is the most realistic hallucination I have ever had….." he stared right up to him, grabbing Maree and holding her close as if to protect his child.

"Merlin….I'm sorry, I camouflaged myself and lied. I'm not Alex, I am Mordred. The one and only"

Merlin snapped and stood up, "WHAT THE HELL…." He spoke in a silent scream, backing away. "IF YOU HURT ARTHUR…." He shouted, almost screaming.

Mordred shook his head, "No, I have no reason to kill him anymore. I did such a stupid thing and I shouldn't have turned my back on you. Kara blinded me and she lied to me….."

Merlin turned his head in worry but he relaxed a bit.

 _"_ _Don't worry Papa, he's telling the truth. Listen to him"_

"I scarred you for life and that is something I will regret for the rest of my life. Which is why I do not deserve to serve you or Camelot any longer" He puts his things on the ground on front of Merlin, "I do not deserve your forgiveness, even my tears won't be enough" He let his tears fall, and looked down.

"Arthur found out didn't he? He must have been angry" Merlin spoke. Mordred nodded "He was furious"

Merlin sighed, "You love being Arthur's student" And Mordred sighed unhappily. "He certainly does not love me, but he does have hope in me…."

Merlin looked down at Maree, "Now I see why you approached him" Then he looked up at Mordred, "Thank you for looking after my daughter"

"She was the first thing I saw, such beautiful blue eyes. Like yours. Wait- she's your daughter?"

"Yes, I am the Mother. Arthur is the Father"

"That explains her middle and surname. Then you and Arthur are…?"

"Soulmates. Would you like to hold her?" he asked, "She likes you" Mordred huffed, "I don't deserve to hold your daughter"

"Her soul is 19 years of age, she used to be in an older body. I gave birth to her soul again in a new body, so I may not trust you…but she certainly does" Mordred gasped as he handed Maree over to him, he carefully handled the little girl and held her in his arms. She grabbed onto his shirt and cooed.

Merlin took in a deep breath, "Oh god…..it's really you…." Then he looked at him straight in the eye. "Hey…..I am actually glad that you are back"

"What? Why?" Mordred became really confused, really not something that he would be expecting to hear right now.

Merlin smiled. "Because all of my pain is gone, I can finally get through it now. Besides, who wants darkness and despair? Hope, love and happiness is what we want right?"

Mordred nodded his head slowly, "You apologising to me is a huge weight off my shoulders" Merlin added. "But I still have to prove myself…."

"And Arthur granted you that right? It's one step forward, take it or lose it. Arthur rarely does that to common citizens, to become a Knight is a terribly difficult job today. Besides, you have no place to go, your home is here, Camelot from the first day you spend here as a small boy"

"But….the Legends…."

"No one knows what you look like except for the Knights. Don't worry, just take baby steps, I need to take them too"

Mordred nodded and gave Maree back to Merlin. "Right now, you made the best choice in following the light. Magic is legal here, everywhere. Live freely just like we dreamed it to be, keep going and someday…Arthur will surely be right, you will live to be one of his best and finest Knights"

Mordred wipes his eyes, "You really think so?"

"You have to believe. Arthur may be angry, but he has Maree's touch. If she didn't give up on Morgana, she won't give up on you, she has a bright heart for many people. And so does Arthur"

"You have a good heart too Merlin" Mordred finally smiled. "You too, I am glad that we had this conversation" Merlin reaches out to try and give him a pat on his shoulder, but they noticed that he was shaking. "Uh, I'm sorry…" Merlin sighed, "I think I am not physically ready, I may be mentally but…" He breathed, "I'm sweating, I think I'm freaking out"

And he was right, "Are you alright Merlin?" Mordred quickly grabbed Maree out of his arms and puts her down before trying to stabilise Merlin. "Need some water or something?"

Merlin nodded rapidly, "My water skin is in my pocket" And Mordred pulled out it to give it to him, "Why do you still have those things?" He asked as Merlin took a gulp of water.

"It's one of the retrieved belongings" Merlin took in steady breaths. ""Retrieved belongings?"

"I kept everything, why do you think Camelot is still standing? I looked after the castle"

"All this time?"

Merlin nodded. "You are a trooper Merlin" Mordred smiled, "Here, I think I know a good cure" Mordred took his time and puts his arms around Merlin to pull him into a warm, soft and gentle hug. "I heard hugs build trust, if it helps…."

Mordred let Merlin take his time, and eventually his body relaxed after a while, then he took the courage to wrap his arms around Mordred. "That's it Merlin". Merlin let out a long sigh. "I am sorry I doubted you Mordred, I knew that someday that you will kill Arthur, that's why I was always cautious around you"

 _"_ _That explains something"_

"It isn't your fault Merlin, it was the prophecy" Mordred mumbled. "Can we start again?"

"If you can prove yourself. You will have to keep your other name Alex, if people knew who you are, they would turn against you"

"I understand. I didn't think that you would end up with Arthur in such a position, but it's no surprise, you always cared for him". And Merlin nodded, "I love him very much Mordred"

Merlin felt Mordred's hands clench his shirt, "I'm so sorry….". "No, don't dwell on the past now Mordred. It's something that some of us all have, and it may take centuries to heal. It's painful….and lonely. But in time we will all realise how much happiness that we have now, and unconsciously…you forget the pain"

Merlin's closed eyes opened to see Arthur, smiling at him with his crown and shining armour. He smiled back, "Arthur"

Mordred flinched and felt the shame come across him once again, he let Merlin go and just stood there, he didn't want to face him. Merlin looked up to him and blinked, "It's okay, it's alright"

Mordred shook his head, "I can't bear to face him, he hates me….". Merlin sighed, "Hold on a second" He picked Maree up and went over to Arthur. "Is he alright?" Arthur asked, Merlin sighed, "Yes, but….he feels very guilty and doesn't feel comfortable to face you anytime soon. He thinks you hate him, he came over to me saying that he doesn't deserve a role in Camelot and had intentions to leave because of what he had done"

Arthur sighed, "I don't blame him…he looked so vulnerable when I shouted at him…"

"Arthur….I encouraged him to stay" Merlin told him, and his eyes grew wide, "You what?"

"If I am going to face the events of the past….he is the only way. And… he is very much in the same position that I am in, but not of sorrow, he feels ashamed, responsible for what he has done and at fault for many things that seem to be inerasable. He was very happy here in Camelot, let's not push him away"

"He was one of my finest knights…..I believe he still can be one of them. I just don't know if he can be trusted"

"He just…needs time"

Arthur looked back to the time he learned Merlin's magic, he was right, he needed some time.

"Alright, let us give him some time. He can stay, meanwhile, we could let him attend at your classes, and some of my own so he can train with the Knights let him fit in so he will feel better"

"We will have to call him Alex though"

"That is no problem, if anyone finds out who he really is, he will surely be hated"

Merlin smiled, "That is what I was kind of worried about when I hid my magic from you, I am glad that you understand" Arthur rolled his eyes, "Surely, I could have seen that"

Merlin smiled again to himself and then Arthur plants a kiss on his forehead. "Should I tell him?"

Arthur nods his head, "I'll tell him" And his hands leave Merlins before he approaches Mordred, "Mor- no, Alex.."

Mordred lifted his head to Arthur, "Yes sire?" He said, wiping his cheeks from the tears. "You are welcome here in Camelot, and I still believe that you will become one of my finest Knights. We all need time, so take it slowly as you need to. Meanwhile we will have to call you Alex, and…..feel free to join Merlin or myself in training with the knights or practicing magic"

Mordred sniffed a bit, "Thank you sire, that means a lot to me"

Arthur sighed sadly, "I'm sorry my outburst hurt you but you have to realise what you have done". Mordred nodded, "Thank you for making me realise that. I will improve for the better"

"Good. Training starts in the afternoon, Merlin does the same today afterwards. Would you like to join? I think Merlins mentors would be overjoyed to see a druid"

"There are none left aren't there?" Mordred said, "No, sadly. Some people think that Merlin is one and call him "King of the druids" which I think is crazy"

Mordred laughed a bit, "So I assume that I am the last druid?". "Yes, you are" Arthur said, "It means that you are quite special"

Mordred smiled, and then they heard a little squeal from Maree when she tugs Mordred's pants. "I think she agrees so too" Arthur added, Mordred looked at the girl and back at Arthur before he picked her up to give her back to Arthur "Here"

"Thank you" Arthur takes his daughter into his arms. 'She has Merlin's eyes" Mordred mentioned, "She is such a beautiful girl"

"People say that so many times, but I agree. Thank you Mordred" Arthur puts a hand on his shoulder and smiles at him, "Come, walk with us back to the castle"

"Thank you sire" Mordred bowed his head and followed Arthur and Merlin as they walked back.

"Everyone, let me introduce our new student that will be joining us today" Merlin announced to every one of his magic students. His classes were commonly attended in Gaius's chambers, Gaius would be writing in one of his books in the background studying modern medicine and improving them in his own time, if there was a patient in the room, Merlin would gather his students and take them to the great hall or sometimes, the training grounds. Where the knights and magic students would try and prank each other for a laugh sometimes.

"He's a regenerated druid from the old Camelot times, so I bet you guys are very excited"

"A druid Lord Merlin?" Sam replied, obviously excited like the others. "Who?"

"His name is Alex. Come in" Merlin made a hand signal for Mordred to come in and everyone bowed, "Greetings Sir Alex"

Mordred blushed, "Oh…no, just Alex, thank you. There is no need to flatter me, I am just happy to be here, especially to be around people that process such a wonderful gift of magic"

"It is wonderful to meet you too Alex" Morgan gave Mordred a handshake. "I hope that we could hear about druids and how you lived around Camelot"

"Guys, I am sure that you all have a lot of questions. Just take it slow and you can all ask them later, let us do what we come here for" Merlin said and all of his students understood, meanwhile when he was teaching he could see Gaius in the background gaping at Mordred, wondering what the heck is he doing in Camelot especially when Merlin is being friendly with him. With that, he assumed that Merlin was doing something good and left him to his teachings.

After the lesson, Merlin's students chattered up a storm with Mordred and he started answering questions about what it was like to be a druid and Merlin was glad that he was getting along well and making some friends. After that, The next morning Mordred joined Arthurs training.

He was stunned by the number of students that Arthur had, so he assumed that he had some more competition so from then he strived to work hard.

"You haven't changed a bit in your skill Alex!" Arthur laughed as the fought in a match that was demonstrated to everyone. Everyone was very impressed, "I am not going to weaken any sooner sire!" Mordred shouted back, they had heaps of fun with each other.

"Good old times Alex, good old times" Arthur patted his back as Mordred smiled up to his King.

By the weekend, the match started. The morning after, the sun shone happily with hope like Maree's eyes.

It was early morning and Merlin rested beside the very King Arthur, sleeping against his warm and soft chest, his thick hair could be felt bit was soft. They knew that this was one of the beautiful and peaceful mornings, the bed was soft and temperature was perfect, and their bodies were warm and soft like babies skin. The sun was shining through the window, upon its King and sorcerer, if it were open, butterflies would come in and lie on them both.

The only difference was that their body guard was the one and very Mordred, was standing right in front of the bed, watching them, and guarding them. But with calm nerves, it was his first day, and he came into the room with quiet steps that they could not hear, and took his position on guard.

 _"What the hell...Merlin didn't tell me that he was this close to him..."_ Mordred nearly jumped at the new sight, but he refused to let his emotions show, suppressing them, he felt himself get a little embarrassed. _"Now that I think about it...,.since that they have had a child together, they must have done the deed.. Just how much do they love each other? I didn't even think that it was possible..."_

He then eyed the two, even they are the same people, they look a bit different, Merlin has more hair now, thicker and a bit curly it seems, and Arthur has brushed his hair back. Quite modern looks, but they are a nice look. Then Merlin nudged, and he moaned a bit. "Arthurrrr..."

"What?" Arthur responded in a groan, "Mordred's here" Merlin said and Arthur just shrugged, "Yes Merlin, I can sense him as well, very good job for being quiet for the first day unlike you"

"Shut up Arthur, you freak out when you can't find me when you need me" Merlin responded and Arthur smiled.

 _"Well thank goodness for their usual banter, at least they are still Arthur and Merlin"_

Merlin then opened his eyes, realizing something he looked around and found his boxers on the other side of the room. "Arthur...why did you have to throw my underwear so far away?" Merlin complained and Arthur's smile grew wider, "Prat" Merlin mumbled, sighing. "Mordred is not our manservant, do you want him to pick it up?"

"You get it yourself" Arthur rolled to the side and kept on sleeping. Merlin grumbled and used magic to get his boxers back and put them back on, then he smirked with a hint of revenge in his face. He turned to Arthur and took his boxers off with magic, "Go get this then cabbage head" He said and then threw the boxers across the room.

"Merrrliiin!" Arthur groaned, "You just did not do that" He gave Merlin who was smirking with his arms crossed a glare after he got up. "You can't magic it back now can you?" Merlin taunted.

"If that's what's it gonna be..." Arthur proceeded "Then give me yours" and he grabbed his boxers and started pulling them off. "Hey! You prat! Those are mine!" Merlin grabbed his hands and tried to pull them off, they carried into a sprawl onto the bed.

 _"...Why am I not impressed?"_ Mordred sighed as he witnessed this.

"If you don't get my boxers for me, I will have to make you!" Arthur warned, they both laughing. "Oh yeah? And whose army?" Merlin responded, they had ended in a position where Arthur is leaning over Merlin who is laying down on the bed. "Mine". "Ah, well, I have my own too" Merlin smiled, he leaned in a bit and attacked him on the lips playfully. Then they wrapped their arms around each other, enjoying their kiss.

 _"Ugh"_ Mordred scowled. Until they broke their kiss, they smiled at each other, but somehow they looked incredibly peaceful, peaceful than Mordred has ever seen them. Rather, when he was around Merlin was always concerned with such a stern face, he had never seen him smile like that before.

"Happy Birthday Arthur" Merlin finally said after a few minutes of staring at each other's faces. It took Arthur back, "Ohh! You remembered! That's so sweet" Arthur felt loved, "Of course I do, I remembered last years, that's when our Maree first kicked, and that was enough for you"

"I never forget that" Arthur recalled the memory, "We cried and laughed so much that day and there were mountains of presents from our people and feasts..."

"Dibs on the beer Arthur" He laughed, "But I do have a present for you"

"Oh?"

"I'll get it for you, it's sealed safely somewhere and it's got a story to it so I will be right back" Merlin got out of the bed and went to his own room, after a few clicks and clunks, there was some silence before Merlin came back with a long object, covered by fabric. Its appearance interested Arthur so he sat up and crossed his legs on the bed.

"Wow, this looks carefully looked after"

"Yes, it hasn't seen the light since I have received it. I haven't seen it myself"

"Tell me your story Merlin, I would love to hear it" Arthur put his attention on him when Merlin laid the object on the bed, "This story, the story behind this comes from the 16th century"

"Quite some centuries ago, continue"

"I was practising my magic with the little I had and mastered my teleportation spells. But with the lack of practise I had I ended up teleporting into a sky and falling down from quite a height. It wasn't pretty, I fainted when I fell on the ground"

Arthur chuckled. "Ouch"

"Yes, but when I woke up I was met with a group of people staring at me and asking me if I was okay, and they were looking at me like they had never seen me before. They were light brown skinned and I was obviously white, they were speaking in their own language I had never heard before so I came to the conclusion that I was in a different country"

"Where?"

"Japan"

"You're serious?"

"I am, and they took me in. I learned their language, they dressed me with their traditional clothes, fed me and looked after me. But I was amazed by their soldiers, their samurai, martial arts and of course, their swords and how they made them"

"What did they look like?"

"They had a brilliant sharpness on one end of their swords, when they made them they folded the metal over and over to increase that sharpness hundreds of times. Moreover while England became more distant to our old ways in Camelot, I stayed because Japan reminded me of home. I lived in Takayama for 500 years, sharing my history about you. And they listened about the British King from far away in a place called Avalon"

Arthur smiled, "They know about me?"

"Hmm hmm" Merlin nodded, "I sucked at fighting in their ways when I learned, but I learned how to their small swords and bows and arrows and fought in some of their wars with the little magic I had to help them as much as I could when I stayed. And before I left the emperor gave me this" he then motioned to the long object in front of him, "England doesn't look over Japan, they have their own King which is the Emperor, but he gave me his respects to you and asked me to give this to you when I meet you again and to not open it till you come back, as a gift from Japan to the King of Avalon, to you"

"Wow Merlin, so you're telling me that this gift is..."

"Over five centuries old, yes. Scientists will go nuts after this, I don't even know what it is but I have a very good idea. Want to open it?"

Arthur nodded curiously at the object, "Let's open it together carefully, I don't want to break it" Arthur looked at it and nodded at Merlin who also nodded, and they started uncovering the object, taking each piece of fabric off. It took a fair while though as the long object was wrapped by lots of fabric, until they uncovered what looked a katakana long sword. It had Camelot colours with gold over it with Arthurs name on it:

"Arthur Pendragon, Once and Future King of Camelot" Arthur read on it, "It looks like a sword...it's so detailed and beautiful..." Along the case there is a dragon imprinted that looks like Kilgharrah that made them both smile because Kilgharrah died quite a while ago and they helped them so much, it almost symbolised Maree a bit. "What is it? It appears to be a long sword..."

"It is called a Katakana, a long Japanese sword. Like I described, but they are made of steel, I don't know if it might be rusty"

"Let's open it Merlin, this is such a beautiful and impressive piece. If it is a sword maybe they had some idea that they didn't know when I would come back, maybe they have come with some ideas in this swords production" Arthur assumed. "You might be right, this might have been made by the Royal blacksmith, it's fit for a King. Open it, I'm so interested to see it"

With a blow and dust spread everywhere, the sword shone with its beauty. Arthur picked it up and examined it. "Here we go..." And then he carefully took the sword out of its wooden sheath, revealing a brilliant silver sword that stung their eyes instantly in the sun. After its entire length was revealed, they gasped at the beautiful work of art. Even Mordred gaped, who instantly closed his jaw back up right away. Arthur and Merlin looked at the sword in awe, "its beautiful Arthur!" Merlin was so surprised, he couldn't stop his jaw from dropping.

"Hold on Merlin...it's heavy like steel but look at this..." Arthur further examined the metal, "They used platinum on the outside so it wouldn't rust! How did they find this material in that era? They are terribly generous..."

"I guess they wanted to surprise us, they are really good artists after all. This is a beautiful gift"

Arthur looked at the sharp side of the blade, "This is a symbol, I don't know whether if I shall use it or keep it" Merlin shook his head, "No, you should use along with Excalibur, as a secondary weapon. It would be such a waste not to use it, the Samurai used these swords in wars, I think they wanted us to succeed with something to help us alongside Excalibur as a helping hand"

"Then I shall use it with them in mind, with thanks and with love" Arthur further examined the sword, "I should learn how to use it..."

"I can teach you if you like, at the training grounds anytime. Though you wouldn't be able to use magic with it, it is embedded with good luck" Merlin added.

 _"Arthur uses magic with Excalibur...?"_ Mordred rose an eye. Arthur put the sword back in its sheath, "Such a wonderful gift, thank you Merlin, I should thank them one day"

Then all of a sudden a huge shatter emerged at the door, the two shot both up to find out what has happened and saw Gwen looking like she had been frightened half to death. "Are you alright Gwen?" Merlin asked.

"What's Mordred doing here?" Her breath obviously shaking, "I heard you got a private bodyguard from the tournament yesterday but you cannot be joking that he attended and won! That is a huge risk Arthur, if this goes out people will worry about you!"

"Mordred is not here to kill me Gwen, he is here to look after me in return for covering his mistakes that he has done. Love ones enemy not hate"

Gwen picked up the broken glass pieces one by one to put in the bin. "But this is a terribly serious situation Arthur, you cannot let him take such a position!"

Mordred wanted to say something but he stood there like a statue figure. "He is not proud of what he has done" Merlin explained, "If you are worried about me, I'm okay"

Gwen turned to Mordred and frowned, but he didn't move an inch, she turned her head at him. "He doesn't move or speak until he is asked to" Arthur explained.

Gwen huffed, "Alright, I will leave this situation in your hands. But Mordred, if you are here to do anything wrong. I will never forgive you, remember well that you have a terrible burden on the entire kingdom, and you have a very deep hole to fill"

Mordred dropped his head in shame and lifted it up again, gathering his emotions. Arthur, Merlin and Gwen studied him carefully. Arthur then let him speak.

"I have my own hole to fill Gwenivere, I am not proud of what I have done. I will serve Arthur for the rest of my life and even eternity if I need to in order to make up for it all. I have acted so cowardly on my own terms and made the biggest mistakes. I will not rest until Arthur and Merlin and the rest of the kingdom are satisfied, but I understand if you will never forgive me, I am forever in your hands. So please go on and don't mind me doing my job, protecting the King" He went back into a statue like position.

Gwen sighed, "I hope you are doing the right thing Arthur, is he warm?"

"Very, it's radiating, I can feel it from here" Merlin said and Gwen exhaled, "I will get you some breakfast you two. Good luck Mordred" Gwen gave him a slight now of the head and left the room. Then Arthur sighed, "What's wrong?" Merlin asked, "Speaking of rumours..." Arthur stared, "People are wondering whoever the Mother of Maree is. We used magic when you were pregnant to hide the big bump of yours but people are wondering that if I am not married to Gwen, then who is the Mother. Which comes to the conclusion when they think that you may have magicked a child"

Merlin sighed in frustration "People are curious. When we introduced Maree into the world, you announced it yourself. There was no woman, there's no helping it and I can't just turn into a woman. Lying isn't right"

"Says the sorcerer who kept his magic secret" Arthur mumbled, "Should we get a public announcer in here and tell him the truth? So he can tell everyone himself?"

"We can do that, and then we could tell everyone ourselves at tonight's feast, it will be shocking but its Britain, gay marriage is celebrated and legal here" Merlin scratched his head. "I think that is best. Maree is clear to have her old memories, she is old enough to be conscious of everything and the Queen knows wine approves of us so we have good support"

"Good enough. We don't have to rush ourselves though"

"It's a thing that we have to publicly do. So the sooner we do it, the better and less the burden" Merlin grabbed Arthur's hands and held them. "You're right" Arthur agreed, "It's my birthday, what can go wrong?"

"Last year when you woke up and realised it was my birthday, you looked at my face, checked my pulse and started crying. There was a mountain of water on my shoulder afterwards, you surprised me" Arthur smiled at the memory and Merlin blushed, "It's just that…I celebrated your birthday for centuries and you were never there. So the realisation that you were alive shocked me and I was so relieved….." he explained. "I would come to Camelot every time on your birthday, clean up the entire castle and open your curtains to say 'rise and shine Arthur!' but….it was always empty….and…" Tears started to gather at his eyes, "I would sit down in front of your desk where you would sit and tell you my stories, imagining as if you were there" And the tears flowed. " _Oh god_ , I'd be crying that entire night, calling to the ancient magic's to bring you back to me…." Then he broke apart, Arthur took him into his arms and tried to comfort him "Oh Merlin….." He held his partner tightly as he cried and gave him a few kisses on his cheeks, "I am right here….alive" Gwen looked up to Mordred to see his reaction and surprisingly, he was frowning like it was the end of the world.

Merlin managed to look up and smile at Arthur, as the tears continued to roll down his cheeks Arthur kissed his tears tenderly on each cheek. His hand raised up to his hair to knead his locks softly, Merlin took a moment to close his eyes and feel his fingers. Then his magic started to reach out to him and softly touch his skin.

Arthur could feel it too, and closed his eyes to feel Merlin's magic. Then eventually Merlin stopped crying and took a deep breath "I'm good now"

"Good" Arthur opened his eyes "Let's get ready for the day shall we?" and Merlin nodded, "Can you get an announcer Gwen?" Arthur asked, and Gwen nodded, "Here is breakfast, I will get one right away for you" And she turned around to find Arthur's boxers on the ground, she turned her head to grin at Merlin.

"He did it first" Merlin pointed at Arthur.


	5. Chapter 5 - Merlin is my lover

"Surely, you cannot be serious sire?!" Arthurs public manager reacted after Arthur told him about Merlin being the Mother to his daughter, his face was pale, but was in amazement and shock.

"I am serious Mr Stuart, Merlin gave birth to my daughter Maree. The daughter I had who died over six months ago to bring my knights back had given her soul to Merlin which we had given birth to again, we wanted to give her a second chance in life"

"Has your physician Gaius examined her?" He asked. "Yes, I have the papers right here. It completely confirms that Maree is conscious of her past life" He grabbed them from beside his leg and gave it to him, as the man took a look at them he gasped again. "So this is true…..but are you sure that you want to announce this publically?"

"It is something that Arthur and I want to do, something to make clear" Merlin said as he held the little girl in his arms, little Maree grabbed onto Merlin's robes as she motioned for food and Merlin sighed, giving her access. The man looked at Merlin in surprise, "So warlocks are able to give birth?"

"Yes, though it requires to use magic so I may become weak during the process, though in the early and late stages, my health becomes normal" Merlin explained. "That is truly a miracle Lord Merlin"

Merlin chuckled, "I could ask Maree that. But it's magic, it seems like a miracle but it is a natural gift to create life for a warlock"

"I see why the priests have concerns about you, not that I want to bring you harm my Lord" Merlin shook his head, "No, it's fine. It is their problem, not mine"

The man looked back at Arthur, "I will see to the court and check with Gwenivere and Queen Elizabeth milord, perhaps tonight you can announce the parents of your child at dinner celebrations"

"Thank you Mr Stuart" Arthur gives him a handshake.

"Have the dinner preparations been completed Alex?" Arthur asked, "Yes sire, I hear that everyone is in their posts and will complete their duties on time" Mordred answered as he followed Arthur and Merlin on. Merlin and Arthur wore their full official robes and their crowns on their heads for the day, the new clothes looked staggering to Mordred and he never thought that he would ever see a crown on top of Merlin's head, smiling along Arthur's side.

"Excellent" Arthur stopped for a second, "Now Merlin, shall we take a break during our free time?"

Merlin smiled, "I think you know what I am thinking" Arthur smiled back, "Let's say it at the same time shall we?" And they grinned at each other.

"Forest" "Forest"

And they bursted out laughing. Straight away, they went back to their chambers and changed into their old Camelot clothes, Merlin's manservant clothes except for the neckerchief that Merlin always wears and Arthur's old shirt, boots and pants. Mordred was amazed that they kept all of their old things, the next thing he noticed that they liked to sneak around the castle so he wasn't sure if he was to stand and keep an eye on them or sneak around with them so they wouldn't get caught.

"Come on Mordred, squat, hide with us" Merlin said and he obeyed the warlock.

Eventually they got some horses and snuck out of the Kingdoms back door and into the forest with Mordred behind them. They look like their own selves from all of these centuries ago, until….they have their own moments of kissing each other.

 _"_ _They are like lovestruck idiots…"_ Mordred thought.

After they finally got off the horses and tied them to a few trees, they proceeded deeper into the forest and so freely too. There are no monsters out to get them anymore after all, but Merlin did find a wild deer, which he approached and patted so swiftly with ease.

"Merlin, that is amazing, I thought wild animals would be scared of people" Arthur was amazed by how comfortable the animal was with Merlin. "They are, I am just a creature of magic, let alone a person. Would you like to pat her?"

With a nod, Arthur approached the deer carefully and eventually the deer let him pat her. "She probably knows that you're the King of Albion" Merlin said, "Merlin" Arthur groaned, "If you say that, I am afraid that I won't ever hunt again. She is such a beautiful creature, it makes me feel guilty"

Merlin smiled, "I'm glad you know what I feel about them, see, she's pregnant with a baby" He gestured to her stomach, "She probably has family, a Father, Mother, a husband, I always have that in mind when I think of them. And they are such beautiful creatures, that's why I hate hunting"

Arthur smiled softly, crouching down to the deer to give her a scratch on the chin. "Is this a protected part of the forest?"

"Yes, I made that so myself" Then Arthur looked up at Merlin, "Good, we must keep it that way then. You have a good heart Merlin" He looked at the deer for the last time to give her a scratch behind the ear, which she appeared to really like. "You like that?"

The deer grunted. Once he finished with her scratch, he got up from squatting, "Good luck with your baby, goodbye"

Then the deer _bowed_. Making them both smile, and Arthur bowed back before they left.

"It's such a pleasure to still have our ancient forests around Camelot"

"It is, especially when the magic around here is this ancient. But…"

"But?"

"The valley of the fallen Kings has completely changed for the good" Merlin said and Arthur got a little worried, "What happened to it?"

"The forest completely grew over it and it took over"

"What about the water?"

"Well….the water eventually turned it into a waterfall. Now there is a beautiful forest, with a waterfall with old castle ruins. I have been there once, it is very beautiful there and yet no one has found it because it is absolutely covered with life"

"You should bring me there and show me, it sounds like a rather brilliant place" And Merlin smiled, "Alright, I'll take you there since that we have the time"

Merlin took Arthurs hand and started taking him along, with Mordred following after. They took their time to get there and went through deeper and an even wilder forest until they approached a large amount of leaves, vines, as if they were protecting something, covering something. Merlin pulled some branches away to reveal an old bluestone brick sticking out and with some effort he turned it, and an entire wall started to move, moving forwards to push the wild and across. Inside revealed the familiar ruins of the old valley, it was scattered everywhere but it was completely taken over by the forest, revealing a huge wide open waterfall.

Arthur's mouth gaped comically, "Merlin…..it's beautiful! Out of all places, you really do get lost in the forest do you?"

Merlin laughed, "Let's get in before the door shuts" And they moved inside before the door shut behind them. "Mordred, how much time do we have left?" Arthur asked, his eyes not moving from the waterfall, wondering if he could swim in it.

"We have three hours sire" Mordred spoke.

"Arthur, this place has become a place of healing"

"Wow, that is comforting"

Before grinning, he started to take his clothes off. "Uh, what are you doing?" Merlin asked, worried. "What do you think?" Arthur chuckled, "I'm jumping in!" He stripped down his pants and left his boxers on.

"Wait-" And then Arthur whooped, jumping in with a big splash, some of the water landing on Merlin and Mordred. Mordred smiled and Merlin turned his head to him to see his face, he looks like he wants to laugh or chuckle at his King, "Mordred…."

Mordred stopped smiling and went back to focusing on his job.

Arthur had wiped his face to get rid of the water that was in the way. "Whoo! You should come in Merlin! It's…it's warm!" Arthur was surprised at the warmth, he relaxed and let it touch his skin. "It's like…..heaven….like the temperature you prefer, it's perfect. How did this place become a place of healing anyway?"

"Arthur, this water comes from the Lake of Albion. They are both connected" Merlin explained.

Then Arthur realised what this place may be, his face went white, as did Merlin's. His breath was shaking, "When you died, the lake took you in….and brought you here to heal you" Merlin took a step back, as if he was afraid, his body was shaking furiously and was about to cry.

" _Oh no_ …." Arthur cursed himself for jumping in, even if the place was peaceful and beautiful, it was nothing more but a burden to Merlin, no wonder he never comes to this place. "Did….you see me the last time you came here?"

Merlin nodded and Arthur's heart sank even further. "Good gods, I should…I should get out of here"

"No…just….give me a moment" Merlin took in a deep breath and refused himself to cry, he removed his clothes in Arthur's surprise and started walking ahead somewhere. Arthur and Mordred looked at each other, curious about where he is going until at the top of the waterfall appeared Merlin.

"Hey! What are you doing up there?!" Arthur called out, and Merlin grinned, "I told myself that once you came back I'd come to this place with you and jump off here!"

"You're kidding me Merlin!" Arthur gasped, "I am a man of my word Arthur!" Merlin called back and then he braced himself to jump, until he held his breath and jumped off that waterfall and into the water feet first. This act completely surprised Arthur, he was always a wimp, but, the bravest man he ever met, he remembered what he once said, even though he had always hid behind a tree, but then again, brave. He faced his past and jumped in.

Quickly, Merlin returned to the surface and approached Arthur, smiling and driven to tears. "That put a lot of weight off my chest, to jump in like that. I knew it would" He grabbed Arthur's arms that reached out for him and let himself be embraced. Then he felt the lake surround his skin, feeling the water heal him, it started crawling up his body.

"Magic" He whispered.

And then it touched his heart and surrounded it. He choked, and Arthur jumped, "Merlin?"

Then he felt a soothing feeling inside his chest and sighed, relaxing his bones as he laid himself on Arthur. Then he rubbed his cheek on his shoulder, smiling, "Within time" He sighed.

"Merlin?" Arthur was now concerned, "I am alright Arthur, the lake is soothing me, is all" He patted his chest. He sighed of relief, "Oh Merlin, what am I going to do with you and your pain?" He frowned, and Merlin frowned too, "I just need time"

"I am starting to think that we really need a holiday away from Camelot, just the two of us" He stroked Merlin's back, holding him a bit closer.

"And Mordred too, he needs one as much as I do" Merlin agreed. And with Mordred in mind, he turned his head to see him still standing there, but his eyes looked like he wanted to go in.

"Come in Mordred, if it will do well for Merlin, it'll do well for you too"

"Thank you sire" Mordred smiled and started stripping down before hopping into the lake himself and sighed, "Wow….it's warm sire" He smiled and let himself relax against the edge, his head resting on land.

"It is" Arthur shifted his feet to feel the ground, _"Strange, I don't even recognise this place. But I do recognise the water, the more I feel it, the more it seems like I know it"_

 _"_ _This is a place of healing"_ Merlin thought, _"Not a place where Arthur is dead, no longer, there is no need to think of it like that anymore"_

"Sorry" he said to Arthur, "If I frightened you a bit, it's your birthday. I don't want to ruin it in any way"

"It's alright Merlin, I was surprised that you jumped from that hill, that was brave"

Merlin smiled, "I think I'll do that myself too" Arthur let Merlin go and started getting out, "Could you lead me the way up?" he asked and Merlin nodded, getting out and leading Arthur the way.

"It's a bit of a climb but I am sure that it is no effort for you" He said, "Okay" Arthur then sprinted ahead of him and went up the hill, leaving Merlin behind. He got up as fast as he could to reach the top sooner, but then he reached half way to find no Merlin behind him. He stopped, and feared that he had left him behind, "Merlin?" He called out but no answer. "Merlin?!" He called out louder. He waited for a moment for a response, but nothing, he sighed and looked around to find-

"BLOODY HELL!" Arthur screeched at the sight of Merlin levitating in mid-air, he almost fell right off his feet from the surprise. Merlin threw back his head and laughed at his reaction, "How….are you….are you flying? You don't even have wings!"

"Magic Arthur, magic"

Arthur caught his breath and took in the sight, "Don't you….need a broom or something like the Harry Potter books?"

"No I don't, brooms are like wands, they only channel magic. Doing it without one is just a bit more risky to do, though, Harry Potter is just fictional"

"Good gods…." He looked around Merlin, "Could I do that?" He asked, "You have to be very skilled I'm afraid, my students cannot fly very well themselves. When practising, Gaius doesn't let us practise in the normal chambers, we do it outside where we make less of a mess"

"Then I'd rather stay on the ground for the good of my own life thanks. And before you really freak me out, let's got up this hill to make that jump. Normally"

"Alight" Merlin let himself down and started climbing up by foot, together with Arthur properly this time, and went up the very top. Arthur took a glance down the waterfall to see the bottom, gulping a bit.

"Scared?"

"I just never jumped from a waterfall before, especially from this height. But I bet it is fun on the way down after jumping"

"It is Arthur, let's jump down together. If you want to?"

For a moment, Arthur looked up to look at the beautiful place and realised something, at that he smiled and let himself breathe in the air happily. _"This would be the place where I would someday propose to Merlin, the perfect place, upon a day to forever take away all of his fears and worries and fill his heart with happiness. That is what I want for Merlin and for myself, to make him happy with the love we have for each other"_

He looks at Merlin as Merlin approaches him to see what he is doing and smiles at him, Merlin smiles back. "Something in mind?" He asked.

Arthurs smile grew wider, "Us" He then cupped Merlin's cheek with one hand to kiss him right there and then, and when he finished Merlin feared that Arthur was going to do something stupid, Arthur then he inhaled a big breath and shouted at the top of his lungs, "HEEEEY WOOOORLD! THIS ONES AN IDIOT BUT I LOVE HIM!"

Merlin broke out laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world, and he couldn't stop with tears in his eyes and couldn't stop coughing when he had laughed too hard. Arthur laughed back at him, "Our old selves would certainly be shocked by us wouldn't they?"

"I would certainly agree" Merlin's laughter had turned into giggles, "You are still a bit of a prat, but that's a part that I love about you too" He finally calmed down when Arthur smiled and kissed him again, open mouthed and sloppy but they paid no mind to the saliva that leaked out of Merlin's mouth when he sucked on Arthur's tongue. Arthur moaned but that didn't stop him from pulling himself and Merlin off the cliff and falling into the lake, Merlin shrieked when he realised that he got pulled in and didn't have time to complain before he landed right into warm water.

"You are such a prat!" Merlin argued, but Arthur just laughed all the while when Merlin splashed him a couple of times. "My back hurt! The water is really flat and hard!"

"Just go along with it Merlin, you _girl_ "

Merlin splashed him a couple of times more.

Meanwhile Maree was at Gaius's chambers, reading one of Gaius's books with Gwen looking after her.

"Such a smart girl aren't you Maree? Being able to read such difficult books at your age" Gwen said as she read the book along with her, Maree would wait until Gwen is finished with a page so she can continue on. At times some things would levitate in the air, Gwen would notice and put the objects back down before Gaius would get worried about his own belongings.

Soon, Maree finished her reading and put a bookmark in the book before closing it.

"Enough for the day Maree?" Gwen asked and Maree nodded. "Well then, would you like some lunch?"

Maree nodded, then signed "Café" and then did an American sign G which made it look like a cup and imitated drinking, which meant "Gwaine". It was a very good sign name for him and everyone laughed about it when she first made it. Gwen giggled when she saw the sign, "Alright, to the café it is then. Everyone will be celebrating so it will be nice to be in such an atmosphere at this time of the day"

Gaius smiled, "It will, it is the first time that the world will be celebrating our Kings birthday, and everyone is very excited. No one wants to miss it so you better get to the café before it becomes overcrowded"

"Won't you come Gaius?" Gwen asked, "I have to see Arthur and Merlin when they come back, don't worry, I will join the celebrations afterwards"

"Well then, we will be off. Gwaine and the other knights may be setting up the café and tavern at this hour so let's go and help them shall we?" Gwen turned to Maree who nodded, "Also, Gwen, I will need to pick Maree up, Merlin will want to look after his daughter when he comes back"

"Alright, I will be waiting for you there when you pick her up" Gwen picked up the little Maree and carried her along, out of the chambers and to the café.

"Maree! Gwen!" Gwaine welcomed them both in, then all of the rest of the knights exclaimed, welcoming them both, it seemed that they were decorating the place to get it ready for it to get overcrowded with citizens of Camelot.

"Hello Sir Gwaine, spiffing the place up I see" Gwen smiled, "Pleasure to see you Gwen, Princess Maree" Gwaine bowed, which made Maree blush a little. "Will you be joining us tonight?" He asked, "Yes, I will be joining the celebrations tonight along with little Maree here before Gaius picks her up for Merlin and Arthur"

"Wonderful, could you help us with the decorations then? Maybe use some of that magic you have Maree?" Lancelot asked, and Maree nodded repeatedly as she was gently placed on one of the tables before she started to help around, instantly, cups, forks, knives and plates whizzed around the place.

People overcrowded both the tavern and the café at once after an hour, everyone chattered up a storm and all bowed to the little Maree who was carefully guarded by Gwen and the other knights. Some Australian people gave her a friendly handshake and Japanese bowing to the ground as if she was some kind of god. People of all races and colours came in, and of course, they are all citizens of Camelot all from different parts of the world that came to stay and share their peace and happiness. That reflected on Camelot as a truly peaceful utopia that showed that the world can truly sync together in peace and Arthur and Merlin take their pride in that among the Knights.

Maree was a happy little girl as people spoke to her, but Gwaine was very protective around her, making sure that people wouldn't bring her any harm which was very unlikely. After a good two hours, Gaius came in.

"Hello everyone, you seem to be having a good time"

"We are having a marvellous night Gaius, have Merlin and Arthur come back?"

"Yes they have, and they have returned in bright spirits stinking of lake water and half drenched, but happy" Gwen chuckled, "I'll pick Maree up for you" She went ahead and came back to Gaius with a very happy little toddler, giving her to the older man. "Have a good night Gaius, goodbye Maree" Gwen bid them farewell and Maree smiled in response.

"Goodbye Gwen" Gaius bowed and left, taking Maree to the Kings chambers.

When he got there, he knocked but didn't get a response so he went in anyway, he found Merlin and Arthur's clothes over the screen so he thought that they must be taking a bath to clean themselves up so he went to the antechambers where the bathroom is. Mordred stood guard there, but he continued on.

"Arthur? Merlin?" Gaius called out, and a door opened, Merlin popped his head out. "Gaius! Sorry, we were….bathing. Thank you for bringing Maree" He kissed her forehead, "Would you like to join me and Daddy? Like we did when you were much smaller?"

Maree nodded, and Merlin took her out of Gaius's arms with a smile. "Thank you again Gaius, please make yourself comfortable and if you don't mind waiting until we come out all ready to go"

"Take your time Merlin"

"Thank you Gaius" And Merlin took her inside, meeting Arthur. "Maree" Arthur smiled at his daughter, "Come to Daddy"

"Hold on a second" Merlin carefully got her clothes off before handing her to Arthur, Arthur laid her on his chest where the water touched half of her body and Merlin climbed in, vanilla soap in his hair and all. Merlin fetched a pail and scooped some water to rinse it.

Arthur scooped up some water himself with his hand and poured it over Maree's head, "Warm?" He asked and Maree looked up to him, nodding, as the steam filled the room she got quite sleepy so she napped upon her Fathers chest. Arthur smiled, "You know Merlin….."

"Yeah?"

"I am going to miss her as a child when she grows up, we should cherish her young years more and spend more time together" Arthur smiled upon his daughter, holding her as she was a precious object. Merlin smiled at Arthur, "I still remember the morning when we woke up with her in our arms for the first time…..it was such a beautiful morning….when she opened her eyes and she grabbed my finger with her tiny hands…"

Feeling Arthurs happiness, Merlin sensed that Arthur was about to cry, he wiped his tears when they fell and huddled closer to him so he can get a better look at his daughter. "I never thought I'd say this but…..I will miss feeding her"

Arthur laughed softly, "That can't be helped Merlin, you're a mother"

Merlin smiled back at that response, "And someday she will grow into a beautiful girl that will stand by your side again, with us like she did before" He added. "Yeah…..she will" Arthur agreed.

They took a nice moment to cherish their little girl, "I am finished, I'll dry myself off and get our clothes" Merlin concluded, and got out of the bath.

A moment later, Merlin came back in with a towel wrapped around his waist and Arthur gave Maree to him so he can dry her up and put her clothes back on while Arthur can get out and dry himself and get themselves dressed. Once they were both done, they went out to see Gaius all fully dressed.

"All ready to go sire?" Gaius asked and they both nodded, Merlin holding Maree in his arms. "We are ready to go and celebrate Gaius"

"Good, let us go then"

They went outside the castle where they were met with hundreds of thousands of people, which brought a smile to both Merlin and Arthur. They all bowed at first and then gave their blessings mostly to Arthur.

"Everyone is here to see you Arthur" Merlin said, appreciating the number of people. "It isn't such a burden after all isn't it?"

"No, not a bit Merlin" Arthur replied as they walked to the citadel where everyone was seated for dinner. All the Knights were there in their shining armour and chainmail and the Queen and her family was there too, prime ministers from all around the world and special guests joined them for the occasion. It was an honour to meet them all and Arthur was very interested in the world's countries so he talked to them a lot.

Merlin was glad that Mordred behaved, he was very quiet but seemed happy enough to see everyone else happy but he seemed a tad lonely in his eyes so he approached him. "Alex"

Mordred flipped to Merlin, "Sire, what can I do for you?"

Merlin shrugged a little, "I am wondering if you are feeling alright" And Mordred frowned a bit, and sighed, "It isn't worth worrying about sire" He said. "No, be honest with me will you please? Your concern is also my concern, your frowning there is going to make someone sad"

Mordred sighed deeply, "I am happy that you are happy sire, but I have no happiness for myself. Kara is gone, Morgana is gone, there are no more druids to go to….no knights to be friendly with. I am a murderer in hiding and therefore I have to lie to the people around me like you once did"

Maree whined in Merlin's arms and pulled Mordred's shirt, Mordred smiled a bit and patted the girl's hair. "Do I really have a place here in Camelot?" He asked which made Merlin frown, "Alex…..there is always a place for you in Camelot. While you can go find it when you hide, you'll be happier than risking your neck when people find out, I am more worried about that than anything else when it comes to you right now"

Mordred smiled, "Thank you Merlin, for worrying about me"

"Alex, when you spend your time here, you are being who you are. Like I did, people will see through you, not as the person who killed Arthur all of those centuries ago, but the changed man that I see today. And soon the knights will talk to you again, eventually, they just need time like you do"

Mordred sighed, a little happier, "Thank you Merlin. Now I believe that Arthur has a speech to make, you better stay beside him now before he makes his move" he suggested, "Yes, thank you Alex. Follow me, I would like your company"

Leon had raised his glass then which captured everyone's attention, "To the King!"

"To the King!" Everyone cheered and seated down, while Merlin stepped up next to Arthur who was still standing.

"Thank you everyone, for attending here today in Camelot for this wonderful evening to celebrate my birth. Merlin, it has been how many years since I was born?" He asked, "I thousand, five hundred and four years, 6 months and three days" Merlin answered and Arthur puffed, "Wow, I am really old"

Everyone laughed, they also gave a round of applause at the same time, and Arthur raised his glass to show his appreciation.

"We are not only here for the celebration of my birth, but I am also here to deliver news that I believe are to be made public"

People lifted their heads in curiosity, the knights mumbled in worry amongst themselves. "Six months ago, my daughter Maree was born on the 25th of December, the day that I pulled Excalibur out of the stone" Arthur stated clearly, and Gwaine sighed in relief.

"It is not made clear who the Mother of my daughter is. However, my marriage with Gwenivere rests in the past, I am no longer married to her"

Some people frowned in the background, along with the citizens that looked down from the balconies of Camelot's castle.

"Merlin" Arthur then turned his head at Merlin, who held Maree in his arms, and nodded. "Over fifteen months ago our deceased daughter Maree gave her life up to revive our great knights, after giving her life she used magic to give me her soul to me. She was born by myself, Arthur being the Father nine months later" he explained it from the start, and then the message was passed, everyone gasped, Merlin is the Mother.

"Our relationship, my relationship with Merlin, we are lovers, partners, soul mates" Arthur said clearly, grabbing Merlin's hand, holding Maree with the other hand. Merlin smiled up at him, and without a regret, they kissed in front of them all.

"I expect that everyone will continue sharing their blessings with one another in the future, thank you all for coming and please enjoy yourselves"

The Knights were very pleased that the night passed on happily without a thought, and Merlin received many love from the citizens, many gay couples were amazed and approached Merlin with many hugs. Some popes from nearby churches gave Merlin worried glances but were ignored, Arthur stayed by Merlin's side the whole night, smiling at the crowd around him thinking that this is the future and it is right in front of him.

And he is happy to have such a wonderful kingdom, and to be able to see that with Merlin along his side and Maree couldn't be better.


	6. Chapter 6 - Sir Mordred

"Happy birthday dear Maree" Merlin gives his ten year old daughter a kiss on her forehead, "Daad!" Maree chuckled, "You know I'm not much of a kid!" But then Arthur did the same, everyone had gathered around in the tavern to celebrate her tenth birthday. Gwen had made a beautiful chocolate cake for her, mud chocolate, her favourite and even Mordred stood next to Merlin doing his job as usual, smiling secretly to himself as he watched the girl.

When Maree turned three years old was able to talk she chattered about as much as she wanted, but when she turned five she spent more time with Mordred than anyone else. That worried Merlin and Arthur a bit about her sudden closeness with him, so when they went to question Mordred, he just shrugged and said that she insisted to "play" with him and the company made him very happy. Merlin and Arthur were glad so they let her play with him as much as she wanted, and eventually they became good friends.

When she turned six years of age, Merlin let her join his classes with his students to practise magic and she was honoured to be a part of it. She wanted to practise with the knights too but Arthur wouldn't let her participate until she was of age, until then Arthur will give Maree back the same sword he gave her all those years ago on her tenth birthday. So until the few days before the day she was very excited, though she was concerned that the sword might be too heavy but Arthur assured her that with practise, it will get lighter so that printed a smile on her face.

Nevertheless Maree was growing up as a beautiful young princess that brought everyone a smile whenever she passed, her hair came out in brown curls and blue eyes like Merlin's but some think they look like Arthurs. But no competition, she is definitely Merlin and Arthur's daughter.

"Blow out the candles and make a wish Maree!" Merlin said, Maree inhaled with her eyes closed to make a wish and blew out the candles, everyone clapped, and then Arthur grabbed a knife and gave it to her so she could cut it. She cut it down….and touched the bottom deliberately, Arthur learned that this means that she must kiss someone so as a Father he wanted to complain but Maree wanted to so he let it go.

"Who are you going to give a kiss to Maree?" Gwen asked, giggling at what might happen next.

Everyone went silent to see who Maree will approach and surprisingly she approached Mordred, and tugged his pants. Mordred who was still doing his job noticed that everyone was staring at him weirdly, and he snapped out of his senses "What?" He looked at them.

"Mordred" Maree tugged his robes again and he realised, his face going red which received some chuckles from the knights and then pointed at himself. "You want to kiss me young princess?"

Maree nodded, "Will you receive it sir Mordred?" She asked, addressing him in his usual nickname which brought some confused looks from both Arthur and Merlin. Everyone seemed frozen in place as they held their drinks, barely not dropping them.

Mordred blushed again and Maree giggled, "Don't be shy!"

Mordred then looked at Merlin, expecting an answer, something. He was terribly surprised, "But…I don't think I deserve a kiss from you young princess…" he hoped that no one would kill him or anything. "You deserve a kiss from me, you're my friend Mordred" Maree smiled.

That took Mordred's head away and looked at Merlin who sighed and nodded and back at Maree, then he squatted down, turning his head to the side and accepted Maree's kiss which she planted on gently and everyone clapped politely as they tried to be nice.

Merlin and Arthur looked honestly stricken in the face, but Mordred could understand their concerns. With that Maree sensed what was going on and frowned, "Father, Dad…..I can't believe that you still don't fully trust Mordred even after ten years of his service! He has saved your lives…." She counted her fingers, "Literally ten times!"

Mordred was surprised at her outburst and everyone went silent, he looked at them all and her parents gulped. Arthur's face was almost pale, feeling a bit nervous but he also felt ashamed of himself at the same time. "I apologise Maree, we have not considered any thanks to Mordred's service to us have we?" He said.

Mordred spluttered, "Sire, I am just as shocked as yourself!" he added, he didn't want to make it anymore awkward than it already was. "You don't need to….I am sucked into the past as you are my lord, so this is out of everyone's comfort zone. Am I right? We never stepped into that ever since I returned"

"You're right Mordred, we never stepped out of our comfort zone until Maree took the courage to do that in front of everyone. If we are to put the past behind us, that first step is a must"

"So…..what do we do?" Merlin asked and everyone else joined in agreement. Maree smiled when they all understood, Mordred then was even more nervous but then he felt Maree's hand grabbing his own. "Everyone" She called out and that grabbed everyone's attention, "There is something that I must tell you all"

They all nodded, "Before I died, and gave my soul to Merlin, as the daughter of the lady of the lake, I asked the lake a final request. To let Mordred go"

A glass cup shattered to the ground, it was Merlins. "Why…..would you do that?" He gasped.

"Because…for the first reason… the reason no one of you have aged is because Mordred is here, the circle that Merlin and Arthur created has been destroyed and magic has come back, but bringing Mordred back alters it a bit therefore no one can die. You are all immortal, all because he is back"

"Why…..didn't you tell us this earlier?" Arthur asked, and Maree smiled sadly. "I didn't want to disturb the peace. I worried about you all, especially Mordred who came here with no answer to the reason he is back, Merlin had to live through all of your deaths, and I knew that before I died. I didn't want him to go through that again, so I brought Mordred back"

Merlin smiled, "You didn't have to do that Maree. I am already happy"

"I am glad. But you all have a decision now, to embrace your immortal life or when it comes to a time that you want to leave…..Excalibur is the only way, but if Mordred is to be killed, you will no longer be immortal and die if you grow longer than the usual human age"

Arthur sighed, "I see"

Mordred on the other hand, was happy, "So…..my reason for being here is for Merlin's happiness…..he is partly happy because of my existence, so he can become whole"

"My second reason is that…..I worried about your soul Mordred, I was able to see you walk around Camelot like a lost, saddened soul. I could hear you crying sometimes. So I hoped that I could make you whole again by bringing you back and making you happy by being by your side and being your friend, no matter how old or tainted you are" Maree smiled. "When you came back you blamed yourself a lot, so I wanted to keep you company even when you first opened your eyes so I can help you walk into a happier and brighter path where you can use your magic feely and soon be able to walk around with people knowing your real name and respecting you for who you are now, not as a murderer. But as my best friend"

Arthur and Merlin smiled with pride for their daughter, and Mordred was already in tears, trying his best to hold back his emotions from the princesses enlightening speech. From then, his tears felt like his hearts burdens pouring out and his heart lightened up, we wanted the burden out and started to feel himself smile so he fell apart in front of them all. Maree went up to him and gave him a hug, Mordred squeezed her tightly back. "Thank you…..thank you princess Maree…."

"You deserve my friendship Mordred, you deserve everyone's friendship. You have proved yourself to be a true friend and a good man to my parents, you don't have a hint of evil in your heart, and you deserve a position that is worthy"

Mordred sobbed.

Now Arthur and Merlin were giving each other eye contact Maree noticed, they must be speaking to each other in their minds, having a serious but good conversation with each other, discussing something that must be discussed. Merlin gave a few smiles and they exchanged glances and suggestions, until finally Arthur went out of the room.

"Here, use my handkerchief" Maree offered him her handmade handkerchief, and he happily received it, wiping his tears and blew his nose before giving it back. He stood up and straightened himself before he noticed that Arthur was gone, "Sire! Where has Arthur gone?!" Mordred asked Merlin as he looked like as he was freaking out. "It's alright Mordred, he has gone to grab something. And there is something that I must say"

Mordred calmed down and focused on Merlin instead, "Yes?"

"Thank you for your service to myself and Arthur, including my daughter" And Mordred smiled, "It is my pleasure my lord"

Then Arthur came back with a sword in its sheath, immediately Mordred recognised it, it was his sword from when he was a Knight, but it seemed to be modified somehow.

"Mordred, this was your sword from all of those centuries ago when you were one of my knights. But atlas, the past is not coming back to you, to any of us. So I modified your sword…..to perfectly fit your role as my bodyguard" He took Mordred's belt off along with the training sword and gave Mordred back his sword in a new sheath, "And as one of my finest knights" he added.

Mordred's eyes widened, what did he mean by that? He wasn't even knighted yet. But that changed when Arthur pulled out Excalibur, "Kneel" And he knelt before his King half shell shocked. "I may pronounce you upon of the services that you have gave myself and Merlin, upon your bravery, loyalty and pure heart, Sir Mordred, knight of Camelot"

Mordred lifted his head and let out a breath, "Sire…"

He almost fainted on the spot when his body started to drop and lose consciousness. Luckily Maree grabbed a hold of him so he could wake himself up before Arthur could laugh at him.

After that all of the knights went into a group hug for Mordred and they started to open up and talk to him once again as their own friend. The only problem now was the public and the citizens of Camelot, if they ever found out, there would be growing concerns for the King's safety and about Mordred. That will only arise if they ever decided to tell anyone, so their mouths stayed shut.

But they wondered if it could ever stay quiet. Because Merlin's first diary was taken, edited and published as a book just recently. So they crossed their fingers and hoped for the best that no one would notice.

The next day Arthur noticed that his junior knights gathered around after practise to read Merlin's diary for the first time together, the whole world seemed to be interested. Mordred was moved to the senior practise with Gwaine, Elyan, Lancelot and everyone else so he wasn't able to witness this, Arthur was glad that he didn't, he would have felt nervous. Besides, he had other matters to focus on.

Merlin has been suspicious lately, Arthur has been acting strange. Especially around Gwen, he swore that Gwen was getting along with Lancelot but it is far from strange, Arthur has been sneaking around with a cloth in his hand as if to cover something and show Gwen something from whatever is under it. Gwen would smile or squeal, then receive the object, whatever it is and take it inside her room but Arthur never goes in.

When Merlin wanted to further investigate, Arthur had been going to the blacksmith a lot lately, he wanted to ask people about whatever he is doing but they would close their mouth and refuse to say anything to him even is he ordered them to. He concluded that Arthur must be doing something in secret that he doesn't want him to know about, the more he messed about, the more worried he got about his regular visits to Gwen. He feared that Arthur might be cheating on him but refused to think that way because Arthur would come back to their room every time looking very cheerful and happy to see him, also he is still passionate in bed so it can't be that.

So he decided to ask Mordred.

"Mordred" He got the young knights attention, "Yes my lord?" Mordred asked, he seemed very chipper and happy lately, he assumed that it was because his burden had disappeared from that night of his daughter's birthday.

"Arthur has been acting strange lately" Merlin started, "Could you go and investigate whatever he may be up to? He has been doing regular visits to Gwen's room and going down to the blacksmith a lot lately"

"Oh. That is strange, perhaps he is up to a task" Mordred wondered so Merlin concluded that Mordred doesn't know anything, "I will see if he is doing anything suspicious"

"Thank you"

"Oh and sire, if he is doing something suspicious, I will inform you. However if he is doing something for a very good reason then I will take his side in not telling you"

Merlin nodded in understanding, "Alright, I understand"

"I will go and start my task in seeing what Arthur is up to then" Mordred bowed and left the room, shutting the door after himself.

As Mordred went out he took a breath and tried to pull himself together, fearing that sooner or later a group of knights may approach him and accuse him for killing the King in the past or for being Mordred himself. But he wanted to assure himself that everything will be alright, because when Arthur last spoke to him he told him that he will back him up with the court on his side which also included Gwenivere to protect him. He was glad that he had Arthur by his side so he forced himself to calm down and walked out of the castle to look for Arthur, and honestly, it wasn't so hard to find him humming in the middle of the street with his cape and armour on. He followed Arthur from a distance, he made sure that he blended in with the crowd and surprisingly, all of the citizens around Arthur spaced out and wanted to make him comfortable as he walked by, of course, if he went outside Camelot, Merlin would come with him with a couple of guards.

"Hey Alex!" A knight came up and approached Mordred from behind, it was James, one of the junior knights that talk to him a lot during and after practise. "I heard King Arthur Knighted you, congratulations!"

Mordred smiled and before he could lose his focus he grabbed him and shushed, "Merlin gave me a task to see what Arthur is on to" He whispered, "Better not let him see us"

"Oh" James kept quiet and they stop as Mordred kept his eye on Arthur who kept walking on, "Follow me" Mordred said and pulled him along, eventually they both found Arthur going into the blacksmiths shop and they both peeked through a window to see that Arthur was making something. But then he noticed that he wasn't making just one thing but two other things, one in silver and two others in gold. He gasped as Arthur got the other ones that he had practised with and some others that were ruined or damaged, so he assumed that he was showing them to Gwen to see if they looked nice and if they weren't perfect he gave them to her so she could make some use out of them later. But what he was making was beautiful, so beautiful that he clearly had a reason not to tell Merlin anything.

"James, I better go back to Merlin. He will be wondering what information I have gathered" Mordred stood, "But Alex, I don't think you should tell Merlin….this" James gestured to Arthurs handiwork. "Of course not, I am going to tell him that there is nothing to worry about"

James smiled, "Good for you. You should go then"

"Thank you" And Mordred left to go back to Merlin's room, who was eagerly waiting. He lifted his head from his desk and eyed Mordred who held back a chuckle, "Don't worry my lord, there is nothing suspicious to worry about. All will come clear in time"

Merlin sighed of relief, "Thank you Mordred, that brings me a lot of relief" he smiled of pure bliss, "Thank goodness…" He let out another sigh. "I am grateful that you are relieved sire" Mordred smiled wider.

"What?" Merlin asked and Mordred grinned, "What?"

"All in time sire" Mordred said. "All in time"

Arthur knew that Merlin has been a little stressed because he has been mumbling at night, but he was surprisingly happy when he came back to the room. He was worried if he found out what he was doing, so he asked, "Are you alright?"

"I am perfectly fine, thank you Arthur" Merlin smiled as he brushed down Arthur's shirt and started taking off his armour. "You seem hot, is it warm outside?" He asked.

"Yes, quite when you are working. I have been doing a lot of working lately, testing things, checking them over with Gwen and going over it again until I get it right"

"Oh" Merlin breathed, _"So that is what he has been doing, but testing what? I guess I will find that out soon"_

"Then, I hope that after some good practise that you will be able to accomplish what you are doing. Work hard"

"I will"

Mordred smiled and Merlin could see it, so he grinned back when they pulled into a hug. "And we will have to make sure that Mordred is safe as well"

"Yes, in fact I have something for him"

"Hm?" Mordred's eyes lit up, "Something for me?"

Merlin nodded as he let go of Arthur and pulled out something from one of his drawers, it was a bracelet. "Here, it's enchanted. It's made to protect you, no weapon or person should be able to hurt you. So even if you get hanged, it will let you breathe air, or get your head chopped off, the axe won't be able to touch you" He puts it on.

"Thank you Merlin, this means a lot to me" Mordred smiled as he touched the bracelet and traced the lines on it with his fingers. "Stay safe Mordred" Merlin patted his shoulder.

"I will"

And Merlin turned back to Arthur, "Do we have any work to do today?" He asked.

"No, it seems that we don't have any work to do today. It seems that we done it all, so now we can relax as much as we want"

"Then it seems that we can go to the next paperwork then" Merlin smiled, "What paperwork?" Arthur frowned, "Our holiday that we want to do! We could go next year if we want, just in case if anything happens to Mordred or anything"

"Oh!" Arthur remembered, "Of course. Then why don't we ask for one of Maree's laptops that she has got so we can use it to plan our trip then"

"Good idea" And they walked out of the room to find Maree, she was outside in town as usual, she always liked to explore and talk to people. "Maree!" Arthur called out once they spotted her.

"Father!"

The citizens around them noticed and bowed as Maree approached her parents and Mordred, "Maree, Arthur and I want to plan our trip sometime in the future. Is it okay if we borrow one of your laptops?" Merlin asked and she nodded, "Let's go to my chambers then. I'll get my macintosh" She hopped ahead and they all went to her room.

Mordred always found Maree's room interesting as it was filled with modern technology but on the side sat many stones, classic books, Arthurian legends, magic and spells, then manga and many different subjects including a sewing machine and art brushes and paint. Maree was very interested in many things. Maree went over to a drawer and pulled out one, revealing a silver laptop with an apple on it, she pulled it out and gave it to Merlin. "Here, I made an account on it for you to suit your needs whenever you need it" She said.

"Thank you Maree, that is kind of you" Merlin received the laptop. "No worries" She smiled.

Arthur and Merlin spent the entire afternoon researching the world and pinpointing places that they would love to go to. After dinner, they dismissed Mordred before they could have their own time with each other. Mordred happily left the room and locked the door for them, he seriously didn't want to be in the room while they were doing that.

He recalled a week after he started working, he entered their room with work on his mind and he had come in on them. He didn't hear anything until he had entered the room, shutting it he heard Merlin moan, and it was really, _really loud._ He froze and noticed that all of the curtains were closed, the place was a bit dark but he didn't want to look, his face refused to turn to see their bed because he perfectly knew what exactly what they were doing. His body couldn't move, he was stuck in place. "Erm…..sire?" He called and then he heard "SHIT! IT'S MORDRED!" from Merlin and "WHAT THE HELL" from Arthur and he heard various scrambling from both of them, until he heard some silence, he turned his head to an unbelievably red faced Merlin covering his body and a shocked Arthur. "What are you doing here Mordred? I thought I told you not to come here at this time of the night" Arthur said with a low voice.

"I am terribly sorry sire, please go back to….whatever you were doing and I'll lock the door on the way out" Mordred blushed and turned around to get out of there asap. "You forgot to lock their door! Idiot!" Arthur blamed it on Merlin, "Sorry! I was too into it! I wanted you more than to lock the bloody door, and no one was going to come in anyways!"

"Aw….that is terribly sweet" Arthur smiled and then his mood went foul again, "But lock it anyway because like you, some people don't knock and just wander in!"

Merlin sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, then remembered the situation that they were both in. "Well…you can leave"

"Yes….sire" And he left right away without a second thought.

He shuddered at the memory, and left the door to leave them alone in peace. Seconds later he felt someone hug his legs.

"Maree" He said, recognising the girl, she would always hug his legs. He smiled and she smiled back, "I bought a book from the store today, would you like to read it with me?" She asked.

"I would love to, what did you get?" He asked. "The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde" She said, eager and Mordred let himself get dragged along by Maree to her bedroom with her pyjamas already on.

"Were you able to carry your sword around better now?" He asked, "A little, by the time I get bigger I am sure it'll get lighter. But the more I practise, the more I get better"

"You were an adult when you first came here were you?"

"Yes, I have a photo. Want to see?" She asked, grabbing the photo out of an album she got. "Yes please" Mordred received the photo and took a first glance at the grown up girl from ten years ago, she looks the same but her hair is shorter and looks like a fine swordswoman. She was standing in front of her two fathers Merlin and Arthur in the great hall with big smiles on their faces.

"You look like a beautiful daughter in that photo, and quiet fetching with the sword" He commented, giving the photo back. "Oh" Maree giggled, "I wasn't much of a girl, more of a soldier and of a guy. Merlin and Arthur didn't know I was a girl, that photo was taken before I died"

"Oh" Mordred was surprised, "I wasn't into dating boys so much" She added, "But being in Camelot means the world to me, so I explore a lot and just enjoy being me"

Mordred smiled, and they took a moment in silence. "Come on, sit down on my bed and I'll go and grab my book" She went around the corner of her room to her bookshelf. Mordred sat down on Maree's bed and took his cape and shoes off so he can lay down on the bed and get comfortable. Maree came over with a book with a hard black cover on it, she climbed onto her bed and tucked herself in next to Mordred. "Shall we start?"

"Let's start" Mordred agreed and they both started reading out loud together.

It wasn't long until Maree started to get tired, damn her young body. But she kept on going and then Mordred started getting tired the more Maree yawned, and fell asleep before she did.

 _"_ _He must have had a tiring day of work…"_ Maree wondered, and uttered a spell to diminish all of the candles before letting her book fall to the bed sheets, get a big blanket to cover Mordred using magic before dozing off to sleep.

"Night night, sleep tight, make sure Arthur doesn't bite" She said, giggling.

The next morning…

"ALEEEX!" Mordred heard Arthur yelling in the morning and he turned to a clock to see that it was 9 am, shit, his work starts at 6 in the morning. Maree awoke too and giggled, "Better hide Mordred" She whispered and Mordred got to work and hid under her bed, pulling his shoes underneath with him.

 _"_ _Sneaky"_ He thought, _"I bet Merlin has done this"_

And Arthur came in the room with a bang, he sighed at Maree's fake sleeping and left, assuming that Mordred wasn't there. He sighed of relief and got out, "Not the way you would want to wake up in the morning I say" He commented.

"You better run Mordred, it's not going to be pretty when he finds you~" Maree said in a singsong and Mordred chuckled, "I'll say" He looked up at Maree and crawled out of bed, putting his boots and cape on. Then suddenly Arthur came back, _"Shit"_ Mordred thought, he must have seen my cape that was hung next to the bed and recalled it.

Arthur seethed, "Alleeeeex!" And Mordred ran for it, opening the window and jumping out like a maniac. Arthur got to the window to witness Mordred grabbing onto a pole that went along the building's length and slid down to the surface to run away.

"Good gods, Lancelot is such a good teacher" Arthur breathed, impressed with his move. "What was he doing in your room?!" He then set his mind on Maree.

"We read a book together last night and fell asleep, I invited him, wasn't his fault" Maree explained, "Oh good to hear" Arthur assured himself, "I better run after him then" And he ran out the door.

Then Merlin came in with a goofy grin, "Is Arthur after Mordred again?"

Maree nodded with the same grin and Merlin laughed, Maree joined him. They both had the same laugh, "Nice to see someone being chased by Arthur once in a while innit?"

Maree nodded in agreement, "Other than you of course" And Merlin laughed again.


	7. Chapter 7 - Don't scare me

A week went along swiftly, and no mentions of Merlin's diary were spoken, Merlin and Arthur were unsure if that was either a good or bad thing but they continued on with their lives as no one spoke of anything.

Merlin on the other hand felt odd sometimes and got headaches that went away so he assumed that it was nothing to worry about. It might have been the stress or uneasiness for Mordred lately so he let it pass.

"We have a meeting with the Queen today" Arthur said, "While we are away in our trip we have to organise guards and whether who is going to look after Camelot while we are gone"

"Good, the sooner we get this done, the less we can worry about and we will have it out of our way" Merlin agreed as they walked out of their room, shutting the door.

But then Merlin sensed something wrong, his head twitched and looked around. "What is it Merlin?" Arthur asked and then suddenly they were met with hundreds of guards coming towards them, at that point Arthur, Merlin and Mordred exchanged glances.

"Sir Mordred, you are accused for the murder of Arthur Pendragon in 600BC, you have the right to remain silent" One guard said and they all sighed as another guard cuffed Mordred up, he hissed at the pain of his magic being binded.

"You okay?" Merlin asked. "They're magic binding cuffs" Mordred breathed.

"We will meet you in court to hopefully set you free, they will listen to reason" Arthur said and the suddenly another guard cuffed Merlin from behind, Merlin nearly jumped out of his skin and gasped for air as the cuffs binded him.

"Lord Merlin, you are accused for keeping Mordred in hiding"

"This is ridiculous!" Arthur roared as he refused Merlin to be dragged away from him, "Step away my lord" Other guards pushed him aside and pulled him away from Merlin.

Then Merlin's body pulsed, his magic tried to break free. At that pulse, it reached Arthur and he yelled in pain, shocking the guards. "My lord?" They asked as he started to drop down to the floor as Merlin was, their bodies tried to break free of the binding.

Then Merlin's stomach pulsed. He knew what it was. And more importantly…..he was magic, if his magic were to be binded, he will die, and that means…..

He froze.

"GET THESE OFF ME!" He screamed, "ARTHUR!" He yelled, and once again his body dropped even further to the floor. Arthur's body pulsed and he groaned, their chests were screaming, only able to writhe upon hard rock floors and scream.

Mordred snapped and knew what was happening, "MERLIN!" He shouted, and turned to the guards with a scowl, "Under Arthurs command, LET. ME. GO!"

"We cannot do that Mordred"

Mordred refused to be pulled back, he focused all of his energy, and used magic to break the cuffs. He ran right out to Merlin who was screaming in pain with guards trying to figure out what was wrong, especially for their King. Merlin was clearly not happy, tears were rolling down his face as he desperately tried to get up.

"Merlin" Mordred said softly, "I am going to get these off"

Pushing away the guards around him he focused his magic on the cuffs and broke them off, frantically taking them off before Merlin gasped for fresh air. As the pain escaped his body he dropped to the floor, as did Arthur.

"Are you alright my lord?" Mordred asked worriedly as Merlin lied still on the ground wheezing. He tried to grasp his body and tried to control it. "My magic- Arthur-" he wheezed between breaths.

"It's okay….it's okay…." He stroked his head, "Breathe…." As Merlin tried to control his body he started to breathe fast and then slowly take breaths.

"Good….."

Merlin sobbed, "It's alright….Arthur is alive, he is alright…" Mordred assured and turned around to see Arthur on the ground in the same state as Merlin, as the guards tried to help him, Gaius came rushing in.

"Good gods! Merlin! Arthur!" Gaius exclaimed and immediately attended to Arthur, everyone wasn't in the mood to arrest anyone anymore, and they were all worried about Merlin and Arthur's health.

They could have killed them, then Mordred's anger arose, "YOU IDIOTS!" He roared and the room went silent. "MERLIN IS MAGIC AND IF YOU PUT THOSE CUFFS ON HIM, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL BOTH MERLIN AND YOUR KING. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?"

After a moment of silence, he huffed. "I'm disappointed"

"Mordred…." Merlin spoke, smiling up at him. "Thank you"

The guards all murmured.

"He's right" Arthur spoke, yet still on the ground. "Merlin is connected to me, and Merlin is magic so if you bind his magic he will die, and so will I"

All of the guards became shocked, some wide eyed at the fact that they almost killed their own King and the sorcerer Merlin.

"Idiots…" Arthur breathed. "Let Mordred go…"

"Mordred…." Merlin choked, and Mordred tilted Merlin to the side so he could vomit. It was small, but nasty. "Are you alright….?" Mordred asked.

Merlin nodded, "That was bloody awful…." He winced, "My stomach hurts real bad….my magic was entirely centred on it, with all the headaches and weird sensations in my stomach I must be pregnant…"

"We have to make sure, Gaius will attend to you" Mordred assured.

"Another law" Arthur stated, "No magic binding cuffs on Merlin. Too dangerous and risky, it's not like Merlin will hurt a fly, has saved my life way too many times to be someone dangerous"

"On behalf of everyone, we are extremely sorry your majesty" A guard spoke.

"You should be saying sorry to Mordred too, he has saved my life though you arrest him"

Gaius spoke "Sire, it's best not to speak, your energy-"

"Its fine Gaius, I must say this. Mordred is not the Mordred you know today, why do you think I have knighted him?"

There was some silence, "He has been…..loyal, loving to my daughter, respectful to everyone. When we met him again he was in utter guilt for killing me because he has caused so much pain, and to prove that he has recognised his mistakes…..he has shown me such good qualities as a friend and as a knight. From all the time he has spent with you all, you have seen his good soul, as my daughter did"

Everyone all looked at Mordred.

"This is not a command but. Upon your hearts and for Mordred's good soul, please let him go. He has done nothing wrong in this time, he doesn't even put a hand on me, I have already pardoned him"

"Arresting him doesn't do any good" Merlin added, "Please"

There was a moment of silence before they backed away from Mordred, "You heard Merlin and Arthur, let him go. We are very sorry for this"

Merlin let out a huff of relief. "Are you alright Mordred?" He asked, "Don't ask me, I am more worried about you than myself" he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to Merlin so he can wipe his mouth while the guards get someone to clean up the mess. "Thank you"

"Can you stand?" He asked. "I don't think so….I am still shell shocked from the binding. And my magic is much more focused on my stomach than anything else right now"

"Let me check Merlin" Mordred kneeled down to him and put a hand to his stomach, he felt a large amount of magic surging around the area and….a tiny, tiny heartbeat.

"Merlin, you are right. There is a heartbeat. You're pregnant" Mordred gasped, "How.."

"Magic. The child depends on it if it needs to grow"

"That explains the pain in your stomach" Mordred concluded, and Gaius hurriedly came up to Merlin, "Pregnant?" He asked, and Merlin nodded as he laid on the ground.

"Best not to try and get up" Merlin mumbled weakly and then Arthur finally got the strength to get up and approach his partner, "Merlin" he breathed, "Can you feel him?"

Merlin closed his eyes and nodded, "Arthur…." He smiled, "It's a boy" And a bright happiness came to Arthur, "A son, oh Merlin….we have always wanted a little boy" He held his hand.

"We better get him into your room then Arthur" Gaius said and Mordred put his arms under him, pulling him up and taking him to his room with Arthur, he laid him down on the bed and Arthur sat next to him with Gaius aiding him right away.

"Did you have any symptoms Merlin?" Gaius asked. "Cramps in my stomach, it has been upset too, and headaches"

"I see, you will need some rest, your body obviously has been stressed, it will take time for your magic to calm down. That goes for Arthur too, until you have relaxed, I will run some tests. Your body obviously won't let me do anything to you until you have relaxed and your magic subsides"

"Yes Gaius" Arthur nodded. "I will watch over them" Mordred nodded.

"In the meantime, I will inform Gwen of what just happened and she will deal with the matters in court" Gaius said, "And congratulations Merlin" He smiled before leaving the room.

Mordred, Merlin and Arthur let out a sigh. "Well, that went well"

"I doubt it, it went crazier than I thought it would be" Mordred replied. "And it's the day when you usually get nightmares, did you have any?"

Merlin shook his head, "No. And I am glad I didn't"

"The day is ruined too" Arthur groaned, "I had a date planned for the whole day after the meeting"

"We can just shove the court matters for tomorrow" Mordred suggested, "A date?" Merlin awed, "Really?"

Arthur nodded, smiling. Then Merlin crept up closer, "Then, we shall do our date on the weekend during our free day. Things will be cleaned up till then, could you handle that?"

Arthur nodded, "I can"

"Then you better get up as soon as possible to help Mordred, so we can go out together" Merlin's forehead touches Arthurs, Arthur chuckled a bit. "Shall I come with you sire?" Mordred asked.

"No, you must stay and look after Merlin. It is your job after all" Arthur said, "I'll have the guards watch over me"

"Understood"

"All the best of luck Arthur" Merlin strokes his cheek with his fingers before Arthur gets up and leaves the room.

An hour later an exhausted Arthur comes back, "How did it go?" Merlin asked, and Mordred frowned from looking at Arthur, "Did it go bad sire?"

"No, the court was all over the place at first but I got them to calm down after I told them that Mordred had no means of harming myself or Merlin, Gwen backed me up and then the guards that witnessed the earlier incident also backed me up. So it went better than I thought it would, the modern world seems so simply put together now, it runs quiet swiftly"

"That is a relief" Mordred sighed, "Has word spread?"

"It already has, I think the people are a bit shell shocked. So best to let them adjust, they need time. It has been ten years since Mordred joined us"

Mordred sighed again, "I feel good but I feel scared at the same time…."

"It'll be alright Mordred. People adjusted to me over time, but it is not a place where magic is seen as evil so it will be better than my experiences"

"Thank you Merlin, that makes me feel so much better" Mordred smiled, appreciating it.

"How are you and baby?" Arthur went up to Merlin and gave him a caressing motion on his stomach, "Gaius hasn't come up yet but I am feeling much better"

"I'll send him over right away" He got up and went outside to see the guards, to get Gaius and came back in. "He will get here soon"

"Good"

Then there was a moment of happiness, they smiled at each other. "Were having a baby boy" Arthur mentioned.

Merlin let out a happy chuckle, "Yes we are, and he's going to need much more attention than Maree will". Arthur nodded, taking Merlins hands in his, "Then we will have to cherish our son as much as he needs it, first, we start by having that diet again and looking after you and himself"

Merlin nodded, "Yeah. Here we go again. Though I am not looking forward to morning sickness"

"I'll be there for you every step of the way Merlin, not like last time when we had loads of things to do on our hands"

"That is one thing that I am definitely glad about"

Then someone knocked on the door, "Come in" and a couple of scientists came in, Mordred paled.

"Your majesty, we would like to take Mordred for some blood tests to prove his existence. If so, we will make a birth certificate and confirm him as a citizen of Camelot under Lady Gwen's orders"

"Do you have the equipment with you?" Arthur asked. "Yes sire"

"Then you may take some blood samples in here, he needs to do his job and he cannot be taken off watch"

"Thank you your majesty" They all bowed and Arthur nodded to Mordred to go and grab a chair and sit down in the corner so the scientists can do their work.

Not too long after Gaius came in to check on Merlin, "How are you feeling Merlin?" He asked.

"I am alright Gaius, just….dandy. And really really happy that things have gone well"

"Good, Arthur?" Gaius turned his head to Arthur.

"I am pretty stable on my part, a little tired though after being at court backing Mordred up"

"Good to know. Now let us see how you are going Merlin"

Gaius took a blood sample for the curious minds of Camelot's scientists that he works with including a urine sample that confirms Merlin's pregnancy, he had himself feel Merlin's magic to see if it was calm and then dismissed him with a diet for him to follow for the next nine months and told them to visit his chambers once every week on Tuesdays.

"So you two are keeping the child?" Gaius asked. "Yes" Arthur and Merlin both said at the same time, nodding.

"Then I shall inform the court about your news"  
"Please do Gaius"

"Then I will see you later then Merlin, Arthur" And Gaius left along with the rest of the scientists that came for Mordred.

"Needles are quiet frightening" Mordred commented and Merlin sighed, "I remember when I first encountered one"

Mordred shuddered, "I thought I was going to faint"

"Merlin, do you think you can stand?" Arthur asked, "I think I can since I have calmed down" Merlin gets up from bed and stands without any effort. "That is a yes to that question"

"Just don't overstress yourself Merlin, no matter what happens" Arthur said, "Yes Arthur"

"Now, why don't we go and have some tea in the dining hall to loosen ourselves up?"

"That is a good idea, we can celebrate with the others there and tell Maree that she is getting a younger brother" Merlin smiled excitedly. But not too long after a super excited Maree pounced inside the room, "Father Father! IS IT TRUUEE?"  
"Yes it's true, we are having a son" Merlin kneeled down and smiled at his daughter and she gasped, "Yaaay! I can't wait to see him!" She took a breath, "What are you going to call him Dad?"

"We don't know yet, we only just found out an hour ago and confirmed it just recently" Merlin said.

"You'll come up with one, I know you will" Maree smiled gently, "I can help whenever you need it" She goes and hugs Merlin's stomach to feel her brother inside. "He's so tiny…"

"He's going to get bigger" Merlin puts his arms around her and gives her a hug, "But for now, let's go to the dining hall for tea"

"Alright Daddy" Maree let go of him and then hugged Mordred's legs, "Thank goodness you are okay too, hopefully the people will like you better. At least you don't have to use a different name anymore"

"I think I will be just fine, thank you princess" Mordred smiled in response.

They went to the dining hall to have tea where Mordred was constantly being stared at, but he ignored them and focused on his job. Even the junior knights stared at him, other had a thousand questions in their heads waiting to be answered, but they assumed that Mordred was a nice person after Arthur offered him a plate of food that was happily accepted.

Arthur had to go and grab something so he bid farewell to Merlin to go and get whatever he was getting and left the dining room with a wave and goodbye. They were supposed to be having a date today so Merlin wondered about what Arthur might be getting for him, so he dreamed away.

"You okay Merlin?" Mordred asked as he noticed him in a daze, "Yes, I am perfectly fine" Merlin replied, picking at his salad in a daze, and then properly ate his lunch when he finally snapped out of it.

Once he finished his lunch, he recalled himself the person that he was when Arthur and himself were friends, sharing laughs, banters, parent problems, supporting each other and now…. He captures in his head how Arthur looks like when he makes love to him with either the light shining on his skin and his blonde hair, ruffled and sweaty. Drops of sweat would clearly show upon his beautiful skin of his and his face would be red or either pink. _"So beautiful"_ he thought.

 _"_ _Some were born to be great physicians, servants or great Kings. I was born to serve you Arthur, and I wouldn't change a thing"_

And there he is now, being with Arthur as his _lover_ and kingmaker. And he never regretted any of it, smiling lightly to himself he let himself rest on his arms on the table with his empty plate and cup that once had food and milk in them.

He didn't realise that he fell asleep.

 _He opened his eyes to a white area, he looked at himself to see his royal robes and crown on top of his head. As he settled into his surroundings, a castle appeared behind him. Camelot, but not the Camelot f today, the Camelot from centuries ago._

 _"_ _I am in the past…" he thought. Looking around him, he saw no people, nothing, just an empty place left behind._

 _Then he turned around to see his younger self in his old servant clothes looking very confused._

 _"_ _Ah"Merlin opened his mouth, and closed at as he looked at his younger self. He assumed that he could see him._

 _"_ _Are you…me?" The younger Merlin asked. The older Merlin looked at him, juding by how he looks he must be the Merlin from before Morgana betrayed them._

 _"_ _I am" he replied. "I am….you" he said, not wanting to say anything about the future._

 _"_ _That can't be" Replied another, he turned his head to Arthur who looked like he was looking at something stupid. "Merlin isn't of royalty" Arthur added._

 _"_ _Actually you gave me a title" Merlin said, and the younger Merlin's mouth dropped, as did Arthurs. "I did not"_

 _"_ _You did. Kingmaker"_

 _The younger Merlin's shocked expression turned into a smile, then he was puzzled again, "But how?"_

 _"_ _I am from the future" Merlin explained._

 _Younger Merlin let out a short gasp, "Tell me, is Arthur King?"_

 _"_ _I should be asking that question!" Arthur intruded, but nothernless, they both wanted an answer._

 _"_ _Yes"_

 _Arthur puffed his chest proudly, "He is Camelot's greatest King everyone has ever seen" Merlin added._

 _Then the two younger selves looked to another figure beside him, King Arthur which both of them gaped at. "That's…me" Arthur said, gaping at his older self, mesmerised at the sight of himself wearing chainmail, armour, robes and crown placed upon his head._

 _"_ _Arthur" He turned to his partner, "Look, it's us"_

 _"_ _Yes. I can see that"_

 _"_ _Hey. Is Merlin more of an idiot in the future when you give him such a title?" Younger Arthur asked, "Arthur…" Younger Merlin complained._

 _"_ _No" Arthur replied, "He is everything"_

 _Before the younger Arthur could get confused, a little girl appeared from behind Merlin's legs. Maree peeked at their younger selves and smiled._

 _"_ _Merlin, I never thought you would have a child, much have a wife or anything" Younger Arthur commented, as younger Merlin smiled happily, looking like he is going to cry at the sight of his future daughter._

 _"_ _Princess Maree, come to Papa" Arthur called her over, "Oh, it's my daughter" Younger Arthur smiled, "Did…..Gwenivere and I marry?"_

 _Maree ran over to Arthur and hugged his legs before speaking out, "Come Daddy!" As she gestured to Merlin to come close and he did so, blushing in the process before touching his forehead with Arthurs with Maree in between._

 _"_ _Hold on….." younger Merlin held his breath._

 _And a sense of dread came over them both._

 _"_ _No….way"_

Merlin was woken up with a jolt and almost pushed the plate over the table, catching it before it would fall over anywhere.

"Phew" He let himself calm down after pulling the plate towards him.

"Are you alright Merlin?" Mordred asked, "You fell asleep" He said.

"Yes, thank you. I was dreaming, but I woke up at the best time before it could have turned into a nightmare"

"Sorry for waking you up, but you are needed immediately at Gaius's chambers. It seems to be an emergency. Something happened to Arthur"

Merlin jumped, "What happened?! Take me there right now!"

"Right away" Mordred nodded, and Merlin got out of his chair to get to Gaius's chambers right away. He was almost running but walked patiently, and almost slammed the door when he got there.

After opening the door, he gasped, seeing an unconscious Arthur laying on a patient bed with a large red spot on his forehead. "What happened?!" He exclaimed.

"He has had an accident, it seems that he has bumped his head rather hard. When he did, he fell unconscious. Some maids found him and sent me right away" Gaius said.

"How exactly did he bump his head?" Merlin asked as he sat down on a chair next to, "I don't know sire, but until he wakes up, I am sure he will explain how it happened" Gaius grabs an ice pack and places it on Arthur's head where the sore bump is.

"How unfortunate…." Mordred said. "Where did the accident happen?"

The guards looked confused at his question, as if he wasn't expected to ask. "In the kitchens, he supposedly was ordering some food for tonight" Gaius replied.

"There are post usually hanged someplace in the left of the kitchen, maybe the accident happened there" Merlin assumed. "Yes, they are very heavy pots, others are enormous, heavy enough to make you pass out if they ever landed on you"

"Judging by how big the bruise is, I think you're right" Merlin concluded. "Is he going to be alright?"

"He has had a rather large bump to his head, I have run some x-rays and he is just fine. In time that bump on his head will recover, would you like to take him back to his chambers so he can rest?"

"Yes. Please"

With a bit of magic, Merlin lifts Arthur up into his arms and takes him back to their chambers. He placed Arthur on their bed and placed an ice pack on his sore forehead.

"You poor idiot, how did you get yourself into an incident like that? Even when we had such a day…." Merlin mumbled, _"And when he is absent I will have to take his place…."_

He sighed, _"There is no way I can do such a role…it rightfully belongs to Arthur"_

 _"_ _But would you imagine yourself standing beside him with a similar role?"_ Mordred invaded his thoughts.

 _"_ _Mordred…."_ Merlin gave him a slight glare. But it was a thought, would he stand by Arthur with such a title? He would never imagine himself gaining such a title but without a doubt he would always stand by his side.

 _"_ _My heart stands by Arthur's side, that is all I want in the world. So if I was neither a servant or a kingmaker…..I would do either_ _as long as I am with him"_

He smiled to himself and then looked back at Arthur. "You poor prat" He sighed sadly and patted his head, rolling his fingers through his hair.

He took a moment and let out a breath. "Mordred, you may guard the door on the outside for now until your shift finishes. I am going to take an afternoon nap and look after Arthur"

"Alright sire" And Mordred left with a bow, shutting the door after him.

Merlin then undressed Arthur right down to his boxers and tucked him into bed, he undressed himself the same and went to bed, just to two of them, stark naked just the way they both like it so they can hear each other's heartbeats and feel each other's skin in soft blankets. Resting amongst each other is the best thing, just capturing a moment and experiencing just that for hours on end even on free days.

He squeezed his eyes shut, it's the day when Arthur died and he gets his head whacked unconscious. Stupid, prat, Clotpole. He puts his hand on his heart and feels his heartbeat, "Arthur you idiot…" He sniffs, about to cry. "Don't scare me like that…." He said, letting a few tears drop.

He huddles up close and puts Arthurs arm around himself the way Arthur likes it.

"No nightmares tonight….no nightmares tonight…..Arthur is okay…don't stress the baby" he said quietly to himself, breathing slowly.

He clung to Arthur hoping that he will be alright and fell soundly asleep.


	8. Chapter 8 - Merlin

_Merlin was dreaming in his sleep, this time he is in a dark place. He can barely see anything at all, but he can hear someone crying. He looks around to try and find the sound, but he has heard that sound too many times, it's his own sobs. But he isn't crying until he finds his younger self sitting on the ground with his arms around his legs and face in his knees crying._

 _He looked like a completely lost small deer crying for his Mother._

 _"_ _Arthur….." His younger self cried, his face stained with tears, his eyes all red and sore, he sat there crying like he did in the past in his worst moments._

 _He frowned upon himself, feeling a bit like Arthur wanting to comfort him. So he approached himself and kneeled down to stroke his back. He sighed, wondering what to do, he never had such a dream like this before, what would he do? Comfort him? He still remembers how it feels, it is heart wrenching and it will always be a scar for life._

 _But Arthur is here now, and that's all that matters, and it will be a source of happiness for eternity._

 _"_ _It's going to be alright….." He said, "Don't give in, and don't give up. Keep living….for Arthur"_

 _But his younger self was shrouded in darkness, he could not hear him, and his heart had sunk further than he had thought, into a deep dark hole, dug up by his destiny, his fate._

"Merlin" He heard.

"Merlin" He heard again, and he woke up to a visibly awake Arthur looking over him. And he sighed a great deal of relief, "Arthur" He smiled, "You're okay. You scared me" He said, sucking in air.

"Oh Merlin, I am so sorry. A giant pot came out of nowhere and hit my head, knocking me out completely. By the way, it really, really hurts"

Merlin raised a hand to stroke his head to heal his sore bump on his forehead and Arthur sighed in relief, "That feels so much better….thank goodness I am always protected by you, what could have we done if I had amnesia?"

"I would still hold onto you Arthur, no matter what would happen" Merlin said, stroking him.

"Even if it was the day of my death?"

There was a silence, and Merlin nodded, "Yes, even if it was" He said, his eyes filling with tears as he looked up to his love, his king. "Because I love you" His voice choked on his hearts words and the tears fell down his cheeks.

"Merlin" Arthur looked down at him and wiped his tears, kissing his eyelids before moving his lips down to Merlin's own to kiss him, then his own tears met with Merlin's own. As the other half of the coin, whenever Merlin was sad, he would cry with him, as the years went by, the stronger he could feel Merlin's magic, the more he could feel him.

It was still night, and they comforted each other. Hands stroking each other's hair, face, skin and then a few kisses before Arthur cleared his throat and looked like he was going to say something.

"I…listened to some of Maree's music once and…..made up some lyrics, as they remind me of you. I think that they will give you some comfort"

Merlin smiled, smug "You're going to sing to me?" Arthur nodded, "It speaks of us, of you, and magic. A lullaby"

Merlin took a breath and relaxed, "Go ahead"

They took a quiet moment before Arthur took the courage and started to sing slowly.

 _"_ _You're the song that the trees sing, when the wind blows. You're a flower, you're a river, you're a rainbow"_

Merlin smiled, he was right, it does speak of himself, as magic.

 _"_ _I've loved you the first time, I saw you. And I will always, will love you Merlin"_

Arthur is an awful singer, he knows this. But that was the most beautiful thing that he had ever heard from Arthur's lips in his life and he knew that it forever rest inside his heart.

"That was beautiful Arthur" He smiled sweetly. "The most beautiful thing I have ever heard in my life. Thank you"

Arthur's mind then ticked, then he looked at the clock beside him. It is midnight, an idea came to his head and started to make a move. "Merlin, would you come with me somewhere? It is not far, but it is worth going"

Merlin's mood changed from sad to curious, "Where?"

"It's a surprise. Now get dressed, we certainly will get cold from travelling with nothing on will we?"

Merlin grinned, "Of course"

They both got dressed immediately, but Arthur insisted that they would wear their official royal robes including their crowns. This confused Merlin but he went on with it as their travel will be a surprise. Before they left, Arthur put something in his pocket and they headed off in the dark with two horses.

"Leot" Merlin said and a bright light was made to illuminate their path, then he let Arthur guide themselves forward.

It was what felt like an hour to get to their destination as they went up a mountain and Merlin certainly felt like there was something going on, but when they got there, it swept away all of his concerns.

The view from the mountain, was _Camelot_ and by gods it was beautiful, the sun is about to rise and people are beginning to wake up so there are lights everywhere, showing a view of the entire city. It was ten times bigger than he had first seen it when he first arrived there, and he told himself, _"I helped build that"_ and felt mighty proud and happy.

"It is beautiful Arthur" Merlin gasped, grasping in the view and then he frowned, as he knew at this time that in a few minutes, Arthur had died centuries ago. But then his frown was taken away by Arthur's touch as he grasped his hand.

"This….couldn't have been built without you Merlin" He said, "Even if I am the King of this city and made the peace and growth of Camelot possible, I couldn't have done it without you"

Merlin looked at him for a bit, grasping his words. "I know"

"You are the sole reason why I am here, the person I am today, and for the peace and the love of the people. And not just Camelot, the whole world"

Merlin smiled, knowing that this is true, no matter how he would deny it. At this time, Arthur said the same thing, he could have done it without him but with the way Uther taught him how to rule, he could have come out as a different person and he would never be here. So he accepted it, he was the reason why he is here today.

"But you will always be Arthur Pendragon, Arthur. The King, the person who gives peace, and a just and fair kingdom"

"So my statement stands" Arthur pointed out, "You were always there beside me"

Merlin nodded, still smiling. "And I love you very much. You have given me such happiness that I could ever have any words for, and that happiness is not only given to me…..it is given to the people, to Mordred, even for Morgana when we tried to reach out to her"

"Our love is shared to everyone Arthur" Merlin agreed. "And I am so happy to give it"

They looked into each other's eyes and they both swear that their eyes both flashed gold for a moment.

Then….

Arthur kneeled down.

Merlin got confused. And his eyes widened.

Arthur put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small box, opening it up revealed a bright silver ring, with such beautiful engavements of the forest, of their love, people, magic and nature on it that expressed everything they were.

Centuries ago, in this time Arthur was dying.

And now….he is proposing to him on the same day, the same time, thousands of years later.

He gasped, covering his mouth with a hand and sobbed. "Arthur…."

"Let me say it first Merlin" Arthur stopped him and took a breath.

"Merlin….will you marry me?" Arthur was now the one brought to tears, his voice almost breaking.

"There is nothing else in the world that I would love more! Yes, I will marry you!" Merlin gasped and crouched down to meet Arthur's lips with all the love he had for him.

His magic reached into his soul as he kissed him and held him, then he felt like he could sense the whole world. And when they broke apart it felt like the world had soared.

They were crying in each other's arms, embracing, kissing, and they couldn't get their act together. They had broken apart in tears, and in laugher, as to share their happiness.

"So….this is what you were doing in the blacksmith?" Merlin hiccupped though words. "I was practising, until I got it right, I wanted it to be perfect"

"You are right, it is perfect" Merlin watched Arthur put the ring on his ring finger. And it fit, _perfectly_. "Far more than perfect, it is wonderful" And Arthur looked into Merlin's eyes for some time.

Perfect silence swept through them.

 _"_ _All through the kingdoms of Britain, of Avalon we stand"_ Merlin started to sing when he looked back at Camelot, singing the newly made Camelot national anthem.

 _"_ _All hail King Arthur, our fair and just King"_ He continued.

 _"_ _Standing by our side is Lord Merlin, our magic hand in hand"_ Arthur joined in.

 _"_ _Through our modern lands are accident stories"_

 _"_ _Our knights are brave and bold with mighty swords"_

 _"_ _The peace flows right through the people"_

 _"_ _And the light flows through the land"_

 _"_ _The crown is true, we have all seen"_

 _"_ _Arthur's true heart"_

 _"_ _Dragons have also passed us"_

 _"_ _With Merlin's guiding voice"_

 _"_ _Upon the land we all rejoice"_

 _"_ _In peace we all stand"_

 _"_ _For what is right, and what is just"_

 _"_ _For the love of Camelot, we rejoice"_

 _"_ _All through the kingdoms of Britain, of Avalon we stand"_

 _"_ _King Arthur and Lord Merlin"_

 _"_ _Will guide us hand in hand"_

The sun rose as they finished singing, and it was a new day. And Arthur is alive, and engaged to Merlin, and there would be nothing better than another year of spending another part of his life with him.

They leaned against each other and enjoyed the moment, as they watched over their Kingdom.

Nothing could be better than this.


	9. Chapter 9 - A dark cloud

They headed back before Mordred could start his shift because they know how crazy worried Mordred gets when he doesn't have the two royals in sight.

"Merlin, Arthur" Mordred saw them come into their chambers, eyeing their official robes. "You two are already dressed, why are you both in your official robes?"

"We went out for a small trip, we apologise if we made you worry"

"Oh" Mordred looked at the both of them, "No worries, you didn't ask for my service, as long as you are both back safely"

"Thank you Mordred" Merlin smiled, as giggly and happy as he was, his heart won't stop pounding so brightly in his heart. And Arthur was smiling too, at his happiest, which made Mordred sense something.

"Are you two alright?" He asked, and they just smiled at each other. Then Merlin raised his left hand to reveal his engagement ring, Mordred gasped.

"Congratulations sire" He bowed his head. "When is the big day?" He smiled.

"Next month, I have already gotten everything prepared" Arthur said, "Really? You have secretly been planning this behind my back?" Merlin asked, impressed.

"Yes. Though it was incredibly difficult to do so without you finding out, so I did most of the planning in the blacksmiths with Maree's laptop"

"Maree was in this too?"

"Yup. She even taught me how to erase browser history so whenever you used it, you wouldn't get suspicious"

Merlin gasped, impressed, "Wow". "You have done an impressive job, except that I was worried about your regular visits to Gwen's room"

"I'm sorry about that" Arthur sighed, "No, it's all gone now" Merlin returns his love with a kiss and wraps his arms around his neck, Arthur appreciatively smiled back at him lovingly.

"I'm still here" Mordred noted, clenching his throat but the soon to be wedded couple had forgotten that he was ever there as their sight of each other took them away from reality.

Then he noticed that the place was very sunny, obviously because of Merlin's happy mood. But it wasn't so bad, Merlin and Arthur's crowns touched each other and the sun shone upon both of them. _"Pretty"_ Mordred thought.

"Will you be my King's consort?" Arthur then asked, "Of course, I will always be there by your side" Merlin nodded.

"Then let's get us both ready"

Mordred was then instructed to look after Maree for the rest of the day, so he left the guards at the door and walked down to her chambers where of course, she isn't there as usual. So he did the usual, look for her. He goes down to the few places that she would probably be, 1, the electrical rubbish bin where she would search out some good treasures. When she was five she found a lot of pieces and created a computer, then fixed a lamp at 6 that she still uses. She will make anything if she puts her mind to it. 2, she would be in Gaius's chambers reading books or listening to Gaius's stories about the old religion or about his own life when Camelot was much younger. 3, she would be at Gwen's place helping her with her embroidery. People are very interested in how Camelot's clothes used to be made so they go to Gwen sometimes to learn from her, Maree is one of them and likes to sew and fix things. 4, she would be walking around town exploring what's new and what's different.

Last but not least, the tavern, if every other possibility fails.

He went to the electrical bin, sometimes he is a bit wary about Maree touching wires and things because he doesn't want to get herself electrocuted, but she knows what she is doing so he tries to restrain himself. Once he got there he heard rumbling and clattering in the huge bin, so he took a peek inside and found her.

"Princess" He raised his voice and she noticed him right away, "Sir Mordred!" She exclaimed, "Look what I found! A television!" She picked up a big boxed object, and Mordred's eyes widened at the look of it, "A….what?"

"Television! The power source is busted but if I just fix the wires with this replacement, I can get it running again!" She said, lifting another power cable. Mordred didn't like the idea. But she went on, "But by the age of this TV, it is bound to be an analogue so I will have to find a converter for digital TV….if only if I can find one" She scattered around to continue her search, "Wanna help?" She asked.

"I wish I could, but I have no idea what a converter is and what they look like…or that monstrosity of a box…"

Maree rolled her eyes, "I'll show you once I get it fixed"

As she continued her search Mordred stared at the television and poked at it to see if it moves, but it didn't, it stood there motionless so he told himself that it wasn't harmful, he never saw any of those in Camelot after all.

Soon Maree found what she was looking for and grabbed everything she found, and took them all back into her chambers to start working on the TV. She had taken the back cover off the television and started working right away, swiftly replacing the power like it was no problem. "Now, can you give me the converter?" She asked and Mordred grabbed the small plug and gave it to her.

She plugged it into the back after the cover had been put back on and plugged in the TV, then got another long extended plug and put it into a small hole in the wall, and then plugged it into the converter.

"Shall we turn it on?" She said, "Ok"

Maree plugged in the power and turned it on, the TV screen was filled with grey and a scratching sound filled their eyes which made Mordred jump backwards. "Don't worry, it doesn't bite" She said. She pressed buttons and a channel appeared, playing the news.

"It works!" She beamed happily. "Look Mordred!"

"Is that….magic?" He asked, "No, pfft. It's called technology, science"

That made more sense to Mordred and looked at the screen, "Then how did the people get in there?" He asked, "People use technology to "record" what they see in front of them and then display what they see on a "channel" for everyone to see"

"Wow, I'll have to search up those words afterwards, but it seems sense. This is amazing…." Mordred took some time to gaze at the screen, watching the weather reports, "So they are showing the weather in different parts of England. And then he saw magic predations of the weather, he sighed.

"People use magic these days now to perfectly predict the weather in the future, now they are much more trusting" Maree explained. "There are many magic users now. In the future the weather towers that test the weather would pretty soon be torn down because they aren't always reliable and that is good, because removing them would support the environment to grow happier"

"They are harmful to the environment?" Mordred asked, "Yes, sometimes" And Mordred blinked.

"By the way" Maree turned her head to face him, "Your Father Arthur proposed to Merlin"

"REALLY?" Maree jumped. "Yes, Merlin said yes"

Maree then ran around her room, "Yaaaaaaaaaaay!" She shrilled. "Then that means that Merlin's last name will have to be Pendragon would it?!" She realised, turning off the TV, "I must congratulate them!" She then ran out the door.

"Such an energetic child…" Mordred commented under his breath. And Maree ran to her parent's chambers, opening the doors without knocking got Arthur rolling his eyes. "Honestly"

But Maree had come over and gave both Merlin and Arthur a hug, "I heard from Mordred, congratulations!" She said, "Aw thank you sweetie" Merlin hugged her back, "Easy on the stomach" He said, positioning her on his lap. Then Maree looked for her Fathers bump on his forehead, "Did Daddy heal your bump Father?" She asked, "Yes. I am alright now"

"Good. No one wants an injured King" She gives him a peck on his forehead. Then she noticed all of the papers on the table, "Am I interrupting on anything?" She asked. "Oh no, not whenever you are here. We are only planning our wedding so it's no rush"

"Can I help?" She asked. "Yeah, would you like to spread the flowers down the aisle at the wedding?"

She smiled, "I would love to!"

Meanwhile Mordred was standing in the doorway watching them, smiling and he stood guard.

He watched them, while then he felt a cold, freezing breeze. Then a presence, as if someone was watching him. He turned around to find it but no one was there except for the guards.

" _Huh, must have been my imagination"_ And kept guard at the door, but he felt someone glaring at him intensely. It was nerve wracking, he turned around again and found no one again.

" _Hmm….."_ And he could still feel it, so it must be something. _"I should report this to Gaius and find out what this might be"_

He notified the guards and went off to Gaius's chambers, when he got there he was met with a surprise on Gaius's face. "Mordred, what can I do for you? You rarely come here by yourself"

"Erm…..I am unsure if it's just me but I recently felt a freezing presence, as if someone is staring at me. But there is no one there, at first there was a gust of wind, but…I am really not sure, does that sound like something to be concerned about?" Mordred explained.

Gaius frowned and hummed for a moment, "Must be a lone spirit wandering around. You may want to be careful, you do know that Maree can see them" He informed him and went to a cupboard to grab a potion, "Here, drink this and you should be able to see the spirit. If it is an inflicting spirit, you should warn Merlin and Arthur immediately, they wouldn't want their daughter running around the palace grounds in fear. Otherwise, if you don't find anyone, it might just be your mind"

Mordred obtained the potion, "Thank you. I will see to it immediately" And he went out the door with a bow.

Immediately drinking it down with a scowl from the taste, he walked back down to Merlin and Arthur's chambers. He hoped that it wasn't someone harmful so he calmly entered the chambers to see the family chattering amongst each other.

Then he felt the stare again, so he turned around and his eyes widened. Then all of the hairs on his skin stood up. He went inside the chambers and closed the door behind him, this is a secure room after all and it keeps spirits out like Maree's are designed to do.

Looking shell shocked, he eyed Merlin and Arthur who notice Mordred's shocking look in his face, and there was a deep silence. "What?" Arthur asked.

Mordred looked back at the door and saw it again, he immediately shut the door in a panic.

He didn't know what to think.

"What's wrong Mordred? Scared of nothing?" Arthur mocked, grinning but Merlin ignored him and focused on Mordred instead. "Mordred…..what's wrong?" He feared something.

"Let me take a look" Maree hopped out of her Father's arms and went up to the door, "Maree….I don't think it's a good idea to-"

Too late. She opened the door, gasped in horror and slammed it. "Did you see her?" She asked, "You drank one of those potions did you?" She asked. Mordred nodded. And they both shivered.

"What's wrong?" Arthur was now very concerned, and Mordred and Maree looked at each other.

"Morgana" They both said in unison. And Arthur frowned, "Her spirit?"

They both nodded. "Right, Merlin, you are not to be exiting these chambers until we handle Morgana, is that understood?"

"I completely agree" Merlin said, putting a hand to his stomach defensively, "But what about the wedding plans?"

"I will have people do your fittings in here, meanwhile Mordred and I will take care of her"

"What about me Father?" Maree asked, "Stay with your Dad, I don't want Morgana laying a finger on you"

"I will look after her Arthur, and make sure that the preparations are complete" Merlin said, and they nodded to each other. "Come Mordred" He said, opening and cupboard and pulling out a potion. He drunk it all up and put it away, "We don't want our kingdom haunted, we have to sort this out"

"Yes sire" Mordred bowed and went along with Arthur, they went out and shut the door after them, immediately met with Morgana's spirit. Arthur almost jumped at the sight of her.

"Morgana" he breathed, facing his sister. "I hope that you do not have any intentions of harming Merlin or myself, including my daughter and unborn son"

Morgana sneered, "No, but I can make Camelot such a dreadful place to live. Then your rule may slip through my fingers"

"Morgana, this is wrong. Camelot is peaceful, magic is allowed and accepted by so many" Mordred spoke and Morgana looked at him "Oh Mordred" She smiled, "I do not appreciate your betrayal" She frowned, "We could have ruled Camelot together, instead of being such a spiteful bodyguard"

"I am much more than that" Mordred spat, "It is a great honour to be their bodyguard and I will do it for the rest of my life". "They have shown me great respect, honour and love, and that matters more than power. I forgot that, you forgot that, and I will never will again"

"Mordred, Camelot is what is rightfully ours, not matter what the consequences"

"Consequences my ass!" Mordred growled and Morgana frowned deeper, "If you lay a hand on anyone in the royal family or Camelot, you will have me to answer to!" He pointed a finger at her.

Morgana moved towards Mordred but Arthur moved in front of him, "If you kill Mordred, you'll have me and the whole world to answer to" He said coldly.

Morgana was surprised by this move, but she shook their words off herself. "Camelot is my kingdom to rule, and all magical beings may bow before me and reunite"

"I know you are angry by the past Morgana, but there is no past anymore, you are in the present, the future. People spite you, yet, you could have been the most loved sister upon my throne. Wouldn't you want that better than people hating you?"

Morgana softened, "You have a good heart deep inside Morgana, it is time to move on and begin a much happier chapter" Mordred said, and patted her on the shoulder. "You were once kind and compassionate, and loved by all. And…..I miss you" Arthur added. "When you were to be executed I…..was disappointed, you are held within our Fathers grasp and was consumed by it, you are much stronger than him. Stronger than his darkness, you are better than him"

"Morgana…you are not your Father, and prove it to us that you're not" Mordred spoke and Morgana consumed their words, breathing in and softening up, she gave them both a sad frown after a while and disappeared.

They both sighed, "She left…." Arthur frowned. "Maybe to think about what we said" Mordred assumed.

"She won't take things in lightly, so we will always have to be on our toes"

"I will be more aware of her for now on"

Arthur sighed, and then Mordred noticed that he went into deep thought, after a while, Arthur lifted his head. "Mordred, I would like you to do something for me" He spoke.

"Yes sire?"

Arthur took a potion out of his pocket, "This is a potion that will allow you to see spirits for twenty four hours. The taste is nasty, but is convenient. I would like you to watch over Morgana for a certain period of time to make sure that she doesn't do anything hasty"

"What about Merlin sire?"

"I will have someone else watch over him in the chambers while I am not present, I would feel much safer if I have you watching her and have no uproars of chaos. Besides, if she does try and go near our chambers, you will be there. Can I trust you?"

Mordred sucked in fresh air, "Yes, you can trust me sire"

Arthur gave him the potion, and patted his shoulder. "You have become a good man, don't let Morgana take that away"

"I won't sire"

"Good man. There are more potions in Gaius's chambers, I will let him know"

"Thank you. And stay safe"

As Arthur nodded and left, he drunk the potion, meeting with what tasted like rotten socks filled his mouth and scowled rather loudly. Arthur gave a low chuckle as he walked away when he heard him and Mordred winced, shuddered and started to walk.

"I am glad that your talk with her went well" Merlin sighed of relief. Maree looked up at Merlin, "So, does that mean that I can return to my room or not? It is safe and secure…"

Arthur hummed, "I don't know…..it is rather far, and I am more worried about what she might do to you"

" _So overprotective"_ Maree muttered under her breath. "We need to keep an eye on each other. You can take my bed from the next connected room if you want" Merlin suggested and Maree came with an idea. "Why don't we all sleep together? As a family?" She asked.

Merlin and Arthur seemed to like the idea and nodded to it. "Shall I get your pyjamas?" Arthur asked, "Oh yes please"

Arthur ordered one of the maids to get a set of pyjamas from her chambers and an extra meal for her for dinner.

" _Typical"_ Maree almost sniggered to herself, _"Arthur never does any actual manual labour"_

Arthur had given the position to Gwaine to look after Merlin and Maree, particularly for Maree because she was always overjoyed to see him while Merlin thought Arthur was mad for giving him the job. But it was alright- he won second place at that tournament anyways. If Mordred didn't work out, he would have taken his place. But either way, Maree felt more than safe and that was enough for Merlin.

"Merlin, you right? You have had your hand on your stomach for a while now. Have you forgotten that you already had a pretty daughter?" He asked, smirking and Merlin just smiled, "You must not have heard then"

"Heard what?"

"I'm pregnant again Gwaine. With a son". Gwaine gasped, "Another one Merlin!"

"And Arthur proposed to me this early morning, I said yes" Merlin's smile grew wider, as did Gwaine's. "No!"

"Yes! He did. And in the most wonderful way" Merlin's gaze went towards the window, remembering the moment. "He took me to a high mountain to gaze upon an astonishing view of the entire Camelot city. You should see it, it is so beautiful. And that's when he proposed"

Gwaine looked down to Merlin's left hand to see his engagement ring, "Whoa, that is real"

Then Arthur came in with some lunch, noticing Merlin's happy smile on his face. "Lunch Merlin, Maree. Gwaine, would you like something to eat?"

"I have already stuffed myself, thanks princess" Gwaine smiled as the family gathered to the table to eat. They all ate silently while Merlin was stuffing his face, Maree was surprised. "Whoa, did you do that when you were pregnant with me?" She asked.

"You bet, he even ate apples with chicken!" Arthur said, grinning at Merlin's food behaviour. Merlin halted when he heard Gwaine chuckle, but kept on eating, "I just…..my stomach just tells me to eat, I even know when the baby wants to eat"

"I strangely remember that. Words, too, sometimes"

Merlin smiled and gave her a loving hug.

"The room is going to be twice as messy tomorrow" Arthur said, "Maybe three times over when it adds our son" And Arthur kissed him, "Let's finish our lunch first"

And they all silently gobbled up their lunch, Merlin almost had twice as much as Arthur but it was to be expected. The maid came in and took the plates and cups away, then Maree decided to go and read some of Merlin's books in the next connected room, shutting the door after herself.

"She closes the door but doesn't knock" Merlin mentioned, "It must be DNA"

Arthur and Gwaine looked at him strangely, "What is that?"

"Science thing" Merlin shrugged, "It's like…..the information about what eye colour you have…what hair colour you have, your build, everything about your body and how you are built from inside out"

"Oh, interesting"

"And when people get pregnant, the baby gets information from each parent, therefore passing it into their child"

"I see, I understand. That is rather interesting, that actually explains some things doesn't it?"

"Yes, it's pure fact. People only discovered it in the 1900's, it came in the newspaper and I was really surprised to see it, it definitely is a subject that Gaius would like to look at"

"I bet he already is looking at it. Does it have any connection with magic?"

Merlin chuckled, "Oh, no, not with me. I use magic to grow children, not blood. I am made of magic….I am not exactly….human"

"Perhaps then you manipulate that information with magic" Arthur assumed.

"That is correct" Merlin bopped him on the nose and Arthur flinched, "You're getting smarter". "Hey…" Arthur rubbed his nose, Gwaine chuckled.

Then Merlin got his attention to the wedding, "Ah, just a few more things to organise…..we got to get some gold rings…"

"I have already made them Merlin" Arthur beamed proudly. "You did? Let me see them…."

"I'd rather surprise you at the wedding than show them to you now" Arthur suggested, "All right. That leaves us everything organised and prepared, all the work is done" Merlin smiled, he gathered up all the papers and organised them and Arthur helped along, and then they gave the plans to a maid to handle the rest.

"Now…." Merlin looks up at Arthur, "What shall we do now?" he asked, hoping to see a suggestive look on Arthur's face. "Hm….we can't do that thing while Maree is in the next room, but….."

"Actually I have an idea"

Merlin addressed Gwaine to watch over Maree in her own chambers, while Merlin and Arthur can have their own time together. They took their crowns off each other and stripped off each other's clothes, they were chuckling at each other, kissing as they both lead themselves to their bed, Merlin dropping down on it with Arthur crawling over him.

Like during Merlin's first pregnancy and when Maree accidentally turned herself into a child, Merlin's chest have just started to grow. And his male organs have transformed into a females which was a new sight from this angle to see Merlin's whole body in this form.

Merlin chuckled, "Arthur, stop looking down, geez" He laughed, half happy, half embarrassed from Arthur staring at the obvious difference. He had always wanted to feel, to see this new part of Merlin, but he didn't want to hurt him in any way, so he wanted to be careful.

"You can't put it in, okay? My whole stomach is like a barrier, so if we tried….I think that it would push you right out"

Arthur frowned, "Sounds painful" But then he presses some kisses to his stomach as Merlin strokes his hair and lowers a hand down to his lower area to feel the entrance, "Feels rather real"

"It is real you prat!" Merlin almost laughed out loud. But then he started to close his eyes to feel Arthur's finger sliding in, Arthur closed his eyes too and sighed, "You're very soft inside Merlin…" He lowered down to take a peek at it.

Then Merlin's eyes widened when he felt a tongue. At the sudden shock, his face instantly went red and his hand automatically slapped Arthur across the face.

"OW!"

The scream of pain was heard from Maree's chambers. Gwaine didn't want to know what is going on to see what Arthur had done, he shrugged and Maree frowned. "Arthur probably did something that Merlin didn't like" She shuddered and they both frowned at each other.

Then they heard Merlin shout, "Shit! I am so sorry Arthur!"

Maree and Gwaine shuddered, "I hope that they are okay…."

Maree found her Father at dinner with a red mark on his cheek looking rather sore and stingy, Merlin apologised thousands of times, and he looked really ashamed of himself and apologetic the whole time. Arthur just patted Merlin's back and sighed while holding an icepack against his cheek. But in the end, they just smiled at each other and kissed, "I forgive you Merlin" Arthur said.

Merlin felt a little better after that.


	10. Chapter 10 - Hogwarts School

The next morning Merlin opened his eyes Maree sleeping right between himself and Arthur, she feels so much bigger than that little bundle ten years ago, but soon he will have that again. He looked around and found Mordred standing from the other side of the room watching.

"Morning" he whispered, Mordred nodded and then Arthur woke up. "Good morning Merlin" He said and Merlin gave him a kiss.

That very day Merlin and Arthur were taken to the court to discuss their wedding and making Merlin King Consort and about whoever would be taking the Kingmaker role, which is a pretty big decision to make so they had to make another meeting. Other than that people congratulated their engagement and pregnancy.

By the sidelines Merlin caught glances from the Camelot church priests that joined the meeting, he didn't blame them, but even though, he respected them for what they believe. When he first met them they were asking thousands of questions about whether if he had met god or Jesus, but he told them that he had never met such a person. If he did, he would have been there to witness his birth, they were in disbelief, but no matter how many times they came to speak to him, they didn't want to believe it. But he left them alone, they needed time to absorb it, and eventually the religion started to decrease in numbers slowly. The first negative thing that they addressed Merlin was "devils son" because of their view of magic being evil and Arthur was extremely disgusted by their words and told them off about what Merlin had done for him and dismissed them. They were Jehovah's witnesses after all, other Christians aren't as bad as those guys.

The Buddhist priests are very patient, friendly and polite, Merlin enjoyed their company along with the Scientists that are extremely interested in Merlin and Arthurs history, including how Merlin operates within his body and magic which makes Merlin feel more special than thinking about the fact that he isn't human so they are bound to come to his chambers to inspect his pregnancy. These days thanks mainly to Gaius people are practising magic to heal people, others with rare conditions usually come to Camelot to get healed, in worse cases, they come to Merlin, because of that Merlin has been practising cure spells.

And now because that magic is back, people have been popping up with magic abilities all over the world. They commonly end up in Camelot to be taught in the local college school or university on how to properly control their own magic, Merlin himself met a man with magic the year before and he has become a policeman and using his magic for good use. But not all people use it for good, some people use it for evil and that can cause major destruction, thank goodness for magic binding hand cuffs and new technology that Merlin helped build with police companies to endure dangerous cases. Anyone that commits a crime with magic is sentenced to jail for life, depending on the crime. But magic schools have being built everywhere by Arthur's hand, all of them belong to him of course, accidentally the first school was called Hogwarts by Arthur. Merlin still remembers the first time when he was first told and he couldn't stop laughing his lungs off.

 _"_ _By detail sire?"_ Merlin joked, and Arthur gave him a confused look, _"What do you mean Merlin?"_

Merlin was shocked that Arthur had never heard of the Harry Potter books and pointed it out, Arthur gaped and after reading all of the volumes he decided on it that it would be good to make it Hogwarts and build the place by detail to make the place stand out to the world. When people heard the name, thousands of magical people were admitted to the school, Merlin was asked to become the headmaster but he refused, as his place is by Arthur's side but he does visit the Hogwarts and the students with Arthur every year. Only difference is that no one uses a wand, but the subject does come up though when wands are sometimes traditionally used in some countries so they are practised with sometimes.

When Maree was five years old when the school was successfully built, Merlin went to the place to make the moving stairs possible and people in the picture frames move by enchanting spirits in them but then the sorting hat was another issue. So he went to the crystal cave and Kilgharrah volunteered to have his soul encased with a wizard's hat, as surprised as Merlin was he couldn't stop him and gave him the role. He wasn't surprised though, as Kilgharrah told Merlin of his own destiny, he will live to tell the tale of others now, too. And plus, Slytherin was a good house group to keep watch on those who seem to have a future in dark clouds or happen to be good leaders.

In the five years as the school was built, knowledge from Camelot's library fed their future teachers minds and Merlin mainly taught them along with Gaius and Kilgharrah at the Crystal cave.

But-

Mordred doesn't even know of the schools due to his bodyguard work, so Merlin decided that they will take him along with them to show a new generation of druids. And that he is no longer the last one.

Merlin went banging on Mordred's door five in the morning, "Mordred!" He called out and he went in, he was met with a groan from the man and was surprised to see his face. "Sire! What brings you up this early?"

Merlin throws him a cape with a hood, "Here, get dressed. We're all going out"

Mordred took a peek at the clock beside him, "At five in the morning?"

"We're driving to London, so if we want to get to our destination in time, we better get moving"

"Yes sire" And Mordred got dressed immediately, going along with Merlin as they went out of Camelot and met with Arthur and Maree in the car and drove off once they got inside.

They all caught their sleep on the way, Maree especially, for a girl her age, and it took at least an hour and a half to get there. And finally they arrived at a train station, which confused Mordred, where can we possibly be going? We have a car, why do we need to board a train?

When they got out of the car, they all put their hoods on including Mordred and he followed them into the station.

They were all immediately met with modern trains taking people down around the city and out into the country, one specifically goes straight down to Camelot. They went through the entrance and specific halls with Mordred confused and suspicious. Everyone was wearing either school clothes or business suits, or casual clothes. But then something caught his eye.

Children. Wearing robes or either school clothes as if it was their choice, but mostly robes. It was strange for this generation of today and they were walking right towards them, and not only were those children were wearing clothing of Camelot's old days, they were each carrying a trolley of suitcases and personal items.

"Here Merlin, station 9 and 3 quarters" Arthur said as they got into station 9"

"Three quarters sire?" Mordred said, looking as confused as ever. "I hardly think that exists-"

"You'll see Mordred, you'll see"

They came upon a crowd of children of all ages standing in front of a wall, holding their trolleys and running straight into it, disappearing without a trace after coming in contact with it.

"Come on Arthur, this is only the fifth time you've done it" Merlin chuckled, "I'll never forget the first day" Arthur grumbled to himself. He was so scared the first time that Merlin had to go in with him to make sure that he had enough magic to get through.

"I'm sorry sire, I am extremely confused" Mordred said, his mind all over the place. Did they just run, _into_ the wall and disappear?

But Merlin didn't hear him, he took off his hood and immediately all the kids recognised him and rushed to him, "LORD MERLIN!" They all shouted and cheered, hugging the famous sorcerer. And then Arthur showed his face along with Maree.

"Hello!" Arthur greeted, and then Mordred cowered, he kept his hood on. And kept watch.

"Would you like to go in first your majesty?" They asked Arthur, they insisted and Arthur went along. "All right, thank you"

"Go on Merlin!" They cheered and let them all along, Mordred was nervous about this. Arthur has magic, but can he get through…..whatever is though that wall? He says that he had done it before, but he cannot help but be cautious.

"Come Mordred, it's not so hard for you" Merlin said, "Thank you but I am more worried about Arthur" He admitted, Merlin looked at Arthur and then back at him, "He is born of magic, he has no worries about going through"

Mordred raised an eye, he had never heard of this. "What?" He clicked, Morgana must know of this. "Does Morgana know?"

Now Merlin raised an eye, then he wondered, "No. She doesn't"

Then Arthur grabbed Merlin's attention, "Merlin, let's go or we will be the ones holding back the students"

"Right, come Mordred" Merlin motioned for him to follow, and he went along as he held Maree's hand. And swiftly, they walked to the wall and Mordred closed his eyes, reopening them after hearing a large tooting sound from a steam train.

They were immediately met with thousands of children, welcoming the four of them. Merlin crouched down to hug some of the kids.

Mordred blinked, they were all school children. And they all recognise Merlin. Some of them holding wands in their hands, some chattering and playing with each other. He had a thousand questions in his mind to ask Merlin.

"Off to school you lot?" Merlin asked the audience of children, "Yeah!"

" _School?_ " Mordred asked. "Yes Mordred" Merlin stood up, "They are all children with a gift of magic, they are all going to Hogwarts, school of magic"

Mordred gaped, and he felt his heart pound as a certain happiness came to him. "You mean…."

"Yes, all of these kids are new generations of magic practisers, or like the people we knew back in the old days of Camelot, druids" Merlin smiled, as he waited for a response from Mordred.

"Merlin…..you brought a new generation into the world, and they don't have to hide, they are free in a world where they can happily use magic…."

He took in a breath, and gasped. "No words. Merlin…thank you" He felt tears in his eyes and wiped them, "You should thank Arthur, he is responsible for the school to be built so the children can be properly taught"

Arthur smiled at Mordred who smiled back and thanked him as well. "Well, Mordred. Take your hood off, say hello"

"Okay" Mordred went ahead and took off his hood to reveal his face and the children's eyes suddenly caught him, they gasped. "A druid, it's Mordred!" They chattered about themselves.

"Hello" He said, a bit nervous about the student's reactions. "Welcome Mordred" They said, "You're one of our ancestors aren't you? You must be a hundred times our great grandpa!"

Mordred smiled, "Yes, I am a druid" He said, and he lowered his shirt a bit to reveal his druid symbol and then a few children raised their wrists to show their own. He gasped, he is no longer the last one, "Only few have the druid symbol on their wrists" Mordred mentioned to Merlin, "Ah yes, this means that they have a single drop of blood from your own kind Mordred. Thanks to science we are able to identify your relatives, others have different symbols to mark from their own countries" Merlin explained, "African, English, Australian, Europe, America, and druid Camelot. They all have their own kind of magic, the symbol identifies them and keeps them all safe"

The children of all ages were all very interested in Mordred, this is the first time that they have ever seen him of course. Before they could waste time, everyone went onto the train with their things, and Mordred was smiling all along the way.

"Mordred, I have something for you" Merlin said, and Mordred clicked into reality, "For me?" He asked, "Yes" Merlin then grabbed one of his bags and pulled out a long box, "Here, Arthur and I have one ourselves, Maree will be getting one at the school. Open it"

Mordred looked at the box cover, it said _"Camelot wands"_ so he assumed that it is a wand, but he had never seen or used one before, so he opened up the case and it revealed a wooden wand, strangely he felt connected to it somehow. "Thank you. May I ask what these are used for?"

"Wands are traditionally used by some countries, they channel magic though the wand and can use their own magic more easily. These are given to the first years to practise, then on to the second years they start using magic without the need of a wand, which can be proven to be more difficult to them than we use it. I do not require a wand, but I use mine to demonstrate to the students when I visit the school but Arthur keeps one on hand all the time but he doesn't always use it, wandless magic is much difficult for him to use, so he uses one to easily use it. I hope that this wand makes you feel welcome at the school and that you belong in Camelot"

Mordred smiled, feeling loved, "Thank you Merlin" He whispered.

"Now" Arthur starts, "There is something that I must discuss with you"

Mordred nervously looked at Merlin and then back at Arthur, "Come with me" He stood up and Mordred went after him to talk outside the door, "What is it sire?" He asked.

Mordred looked a bit scared, thinking that he might have done something wrong. Arthur noticed and chuckled, "Don't. You haven't done anything, I just need to talk to you"

"Ok" Mordred let out a breath of relief.

"Maree, is going to Hogwarts today and start school there since that she is of age"

Mordred could see what he is getting to, "Oh, I see"

"Her things that she needs are all packed, she is going to be put into a house and live there at the school for seven years. Her wand, her sword, books, everything she needs is with her. She already has education from her previous life but she is going there to learn magic"

Mordred's lips thinned, "So you would like me to be her bodyguard while she stays there?" He asked.

Arthur nodded, "But it's your decision, you may want to look after myself and Merlin, or you can look after my daughter and make sure that she doesn't receive any harm"

Mordred was surprised, he had never been given to decide, he would just be ordered to do something and go along with it.

"Mordred. You have served us for ten years and we never had a better bodyguard" Arthur smiled, "But, Maree would cry if you left"

Mordred frowned, "She loves you very much" Arthur added, and Mordred nodded, this is indeed a fact. They are best friends, and they have spent time together in these past ten years. If he were to leave, even as an adult she would force herself to smile and let him do what he wants even though it may crush her.

"I know" He said sadly, "You are important, but she is also my friend. But, you can get someone else can't you sire? Like Gwaine?"

"You are right. But the issue is that we need someone with magic, and that is something that we haven't got at the moment"

"Can't you find someone then? And if you can, how long will that take? Morgana is still around in Camelot, I cannot back away from you and Merlin right now. It is my job"

Arthur then looked at Mordred's eyes that were filled with worry, "Not until you are safe sire, and that you find someone, I can look after your daughter. You are my only concern right now"

"Then _who_ will look after her?" Arthur asked, and Mordred caught his breath. "I don't think you should be concerned Arthur. Spirits only roam around places where they have been and Hogwarts is not one of them, she will be safe there. And it is not like the spirits there will harm her right?"

Arthur thought for a moment, "You are right. She will be safe at Hogwarts"

"Then. I will stay with you where you _need_ me"

Arthur sighed and then he let a moment of silence pass, "OK, ok. Then it is up to you how to tell Maree"

Mordred nodded. And once they collected themselves, they went back to join Merlin and Maree. Mordred sat down next to her and she noticed, and gave him a hug.

It took a while until the train reached its destination to the Hogwarts School, it was humungous from a distance and made out of bluestone but he could feel magic coming from each and every make of the building which made Mordred relived that Maree is going to live someplace safe.

Immediately when they all got out of the train, the students were guided by teachers by their school year so Maree said goodbye and went along with the other pupils before Merlin, Arthur and Mordred went along with the headmaster.

"Welcome Merlin, Arthur" He bowed, "Another fine year and we are very pleased to have your daughter Maree with us at Hogwarts"

"Likewise Josh, we are happy to join you" Arthur beamed proudly, excited to see how Maree will go, they went ahead and walked into the great hall where all of the students sat in their chairs and the first years stood behind the front steps. As Josh, Merlin and Arthur came in students cheered and clapped. Then once they were seated, everyone went silent. Then Merlin went out to get the sorting hat, which twitched at Merlin's touch, which meant that Kilgharrah knew who was picking him up and placed it upon a stool in front of the new students.

"Welcome to Hogwarts" Merlin began, "This is the fifth anniversary of the school and the first to practise magic upon the old religion and modern magic. New students today will be sorted into houses of Huffleouff, Slytherin, Griffindor and Ravenclaw by the sorting hat that was once Kilgharrah the great dragon from 1500 years ago"

Kilgharrah cringed every time he had to do this, he wasn't the person to sing but when he did so, he enjoyed it. He breathed in and started to sing.

 _Oh you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me._

 _You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all._

 _There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be._

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The students all clapped and then Arthur picked up a scroll to call out the new names. There are twenty new students admitted in the first year at the school so it didn't take long until Maree came up, when it did people went in whispers and surprise. Merlin smiled at his daughter and let her sit down on the stool before Merlin gently placed the hat on top of her head.

Both Arthur and Merlin became nervous about where Maree will be placed, Merlin was placed into Slytherin to Arthurs surprise because he could have been placed into Hufflepuff for his loyalty to Arthur but his destiny was to stand by Arthurs side as a leader so he was put into Slytherin while Arthur was put into Griffindor for his bravery and being a just king. So they didn't know whether Maree will be put into either house or a different one.

Kilgharrah smiled, "Ah, I know this child very well. I spent at least nineteen years with this kid. Very much like his Fathers Arthur and Merlin. There is a lot of courage and a very open mind here, you can certainly become a very good leader for the future of Camelot with that big of a mind. You want to see the world in a positive way" He said, then he sighed, "Difficult….very difficult…."

Arthur, Merlin and Mordred breathed in for the result for a moment. Another minute passed and people were unsure of what is going to happen. Until he opened his eyes and opened his mouth again.

"Right. Then it must be…GRIFFINDOR!"

The whole hall clapped and Arthur let out a breath and Merlin had a strange urge to bang his head on the desk and laugh with Arthur, but he took the hat off and let Maree join the Griffindor table looking quite pleased.

Then after all the other students were sorted, Merlin didn't put the hat away. "We have a very special guest today that will be placed into a house, hopefully to join us very soon"

Mordred frowned, fearing that it was him. Kilgharrah knows who he is, so how will he react when he finds out?

"Sir Mordred" Merlin called out and students chattered among themselves. Mordred stood up nervously and approached Merlin, _"Are you sure about this?"_ He asked.

 _"_ _I will take care of it afterwards, I assure you"_ Merlin replied, and with a relieved nod, Mordred sat down on the stool and Merlin gently laid the hat on top of Mordred's head. Immediately Kilgharrah burst out into an uproar, "MERLIN EMRYS, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD IT IN YOU TO BRING MORDRED IN SUCH A PLACE. WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?!" He hollered, Merlin plugged his ears like they just got a howler card, "I TOLD YOU VERY CLEARLY THAT HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ARTHURS DEATH AND YOU PUT YOUR TRUST IN HIM?! I-"

Mordred cowed and almost whimpered, all of the students were shot with surprise and Maree frowned gravely. Merlin and Arthur looked at each other nervously and then back at the hat.

It went awkwardly silent, then the hat gasped, almost making everyone flinch. "Mordred Mordred Mordred. This is not the druid that I was last informed of, this man here is nothing like the Mordred that was foretold to be…" He grumbled in surprise, Mordred sighed heavily. "Oh? Relieved are you? Hmmmm….this one seems to be a completely new and different person, this one has an open mind like Maree's, you admire her do you?"

Merlin snorted and all of the students giggled, Mordred blushed. "Don't say that…." He whispered, hoping that Maree didn't hear but if all the students did then she definitely did.

"You have people that you care about, people to protect, I have seen that in a certain man centuries ago. Your heart is in the present and not the past, I can see that you have greatly improved with no clouds hanging in your path. You want to improve yourself, to become a better person to serve your King and your friend…..not only for yourself but for others too upon love and friendship. You are a very brave man to face your past mistakes. Merlin, I don't know how you did it"

Merlin smiled, _"He had a bit of help. But….I think he had made most of own achievements"_

Mordred felt his heart beating in his chest as Kilgharrah just spilled his soul to thousands of people.

"Without a doubt. You must be….GRIFFINDOR!"

Maree cheered the loudest out of all of the students and Mordred stood up to join her and she hugged him.

"Now, we shall begin the fest for tonight to start our new school year. Let us enjoy" Merlin clicked his fingers and like the real thing, food appeared upon the house and staff tables in the great hall. Everyone started digging in and Merlin picked up the hat, "Er-"  
"You don't need to explain warlock, his head explains much more than you need"

Merlin smiled and put Kilgharrah away before he notices the ghosts started coming in, Mordred looked quite startled as he recognised the ghosts. But Arthur was always happy to see them.

"Father, Mother" Arthur greeted as his saw Uther and Ygraine Pendragon, and for Merlin he greeted his Mother Hunith and Father Balindor as well. It was a lovely time for a family to come together and greet each other for a day.

"Good evening Father, Mother" Arthur greeted his parents, "Arthur" Uther said, happy to see his son, "It is good to see you. How is my granddaughter?"

"Ah, she has joined us tonight. She is over at the Griffindor table with one of my finest knights" He pointed down at his ten year old daughter, Uther smiled. "Come Ygraine, would you like to meet her?"

"I would love to darling" Ygraine agreed and they walked along to Maree, who was very happy to see them. "Grandpa!" She then hugged Uther and then looked at Ygraine, "Are you Ygraine?" She asked and Ygraine nodded, "You must be my Granddaughter"

'Grandma" She smiled and gave her a hug as well, "I must say that Hogwarts makes you at home?" She asked. "They make it much more like home when children come over to practise magic. It makes me feel as if I am correcting what I have done. And I was relieved that the students were practising light magic instead of dark magic which is illegal, so we are all going the correct path, if it wasn't for Arthur and Merlin"

"I feel the same way" Maree said. "And I am looking forward to spending my school days with you in my presence, it makes me feel safer"

"It is my pleasure"

"Enjoy your lunch dear, we will see you later" Ygraine said, "Yes Grandma" Maree bowed and proceeded to her lunch with Mordred who smiled at them. Uther bowed to him and Mordred bowed back before they separated.

Then the headmaster stood up and silenced the tables as the feast finished, then smiled at Merlin and Arthur with their parents alongside him.

"Upon this brilliant fifth anniversary of this school, the government approached me to give you a gift that happened to be stored away for at least 500 years. We believe that it must be brought into your hands"

Merlin and Arthur looked at each other in surprise, and then the headmaster turned to one of the other serving staff and picked up a big, red oval like object. Immediately everyone knew what it was.

"A dragon egg!" Merlin exclaimed, "How- How did anyone find this?" He went up to the egg immediately, Balinor's mouth gaped and Uther gasped.

"No one knows. Whoever found it seems to be unknown, but no one could ever hatch it. Which is why it must belong to you Dragonlord"

Uther whipped his head to Arthur who shrugged, ""This is amazing, thank you Josh. This means so much to me"

Merlin then turned to the students and raised the egg for everyone to see, "Everyone, this is a dragon egg. The last dragon, Aithusa died 500 years ago, she was the last of her kind. So I never thought that I would ever see another egg". Lowering it down he proceeded, "The only way to hatch a dragon egg is for a dragon lord to call it. My Father, Balinor was a dragon lord, when he passed away, his skill was passed onto myself"

Uther looked at Arthur again.

"Now children, does anyone know how to hatch a dragon egg?" He asked. And Maree's hand shoots up, "Yes?"

"To hatch a dragon egg, we must give it a name" She said.

"That is correct, what shall we name it everyone?". And all of the students went into a wild chatter with excitement.

 _"_ _To be honest, I like it when merlin teaches. It's like he is meant to do it"_ Arthur thought.

"Merlin, I think there is a perfect name for it" Uther spoke up, and the room went quiet, and approached Merlin. Merlin was surprised, but let Uther come over and touch the egg.

"I think the appropriate name for this new dragon would be Glaurung. Named after the first dragon that lived among the Pendragon ancestors, the first King of Camelot"

The students agreed, nodding their heads. And Arthur smiled, "Father, that sounds like the perfect name for him"

"And everyone shall raise him in the school right? We have big chambers suited for dragons here, it'll be perfect"

"Good idea Merlin. Can we Josh?"

"Why not? We brought the egg here, we can keep him here"

"Right, then…." Merlin lays the egg on the stool and everyone went quiet. They watched Merlin close his eyes and breathe in before his eyes opened with gold eyes, "Glaurung" He spoke, his voice as deep as Arthur once heard it when he used to summon Kilgharrah ten years ago.

Then the students gasped, the egg cracked and a tiny little had reached out of the shell revealing a little red dragon. Then its wings pushed the ends of its egg off with a little squabble.

"Hello little one" Merlin welcomed, smiling and then Arthur approached him. "He's a beautiful dragon Merlin, and the students here are going to take good care of him"

Merlin and Arthur took the rest of the day making sure the little Glaurung was safe in the dragon chambers, with Kilgharrah's spirit, he gave the little one the attention he needs, with the students around, he is likely going to get more than enough attention. After they were satisfied, they went exploring around Hogwarts to see how everything is going and got a new wand for Maree, before finally Arthur was to break the news of Merlin's pregnancy to both of their parents.

"We….Merlin and I have some news to share to you today, fantastic news" Arthur said as they stood in their own chambers for the night.

Uther and Ygraine wondered what it might be, Bailor was raising his eyebrows in curiosity to what it might be. Merlin and Arthur smiled at each other, "As we explained last year about Merlin giving birth to our daughter ten years ago, yet again, Merlin is pregnant with a son"

"Oh" Hunith gasped and Ygraine's eyes were sparking, "Oh dear, congratulations!" And they hugged the couple while Balinor and Uther gaped. "Oh, and we're getting married!" Merlin added and Uther's face was filled with surprise.

"That explains the ring you have on your finger darling, I am so happy for you!" Hunith said, smiling and hugging her son.

"You're…getting married?" He asked slowly, Arthur frowned. "Father, I don't care what you say. I love Merlin, and we're stuck together and we want to spend our lives together"

Uther sighed, "I understand, I want to say no, but I understand. I want you to be happy"

"That's right, we want both of you to be happy Arthur" Ygraine said. "Thank you, all of you" Arthur really appreciated their blessings.

After a celebration, they both went to bed. With a few big pillows piled up against Arthurs back, Merlin laid against Arthur's chest, Arthur had his arms around him and holding a book which they both set their eyes on for a while. Until they finished a chapter, Arthur bookmarked it and put it away, then he set his eyes on Merlin who looked at him and he kissed his forehead. "How's baby?" He asked.

"He's safe, he's alright" Merlin kisses Arthur on the lips before he positions himself to lean on his chest and Arthur runs his fingers through Merlin's hair.

"For some reason…..it feels like as if I know that you're making milk in that chest of yours" Arthur said suddenly which made Merlin laugh, "Magic, of course, you can always feel me. As I can feel you"

Arthur smiled happily, "No matter who, or what you are, even with magic, you are the most amazing man I've ever met". "Thank you Arthur"

They rested for a moment, until Merlin could feel Arthur slightly shaking, a bit worried, he looked up to Arthur who was crying silent tears of joy. "Oh" Merlin breathed, "I love you too Arthur" He brushed his fingers against his cheeks where the tears stained his skin and then kissed each of his eyes. Arthur was smiling brightly and kissed Merlin with all his love, and they let the night pass away as they spent time together.


	11. Chapter 11 - The dark cloud rises

First thing in the morning when a maid came into the guest chambers, she was met with a sleeping couple in a bundle. She gasped softly, smiling at the smiles on their faces and the bright atmosphere.

It was time for them to leave after breakfast and to say goodbye to Maree.

"You have a good time at school alright Maree?" Merlin said, giving her a hug, "Make some friends and learn a great deal"

And then Arthur bent down to her, "You have a great advantage, so I don't think you won't not have any friends" He whispered, and she laughed. "Just because I have already been to university doesn't mean that everyone else can copy my papers!"

Merlin gave him a small kick in the leg. "She smart enough not to"

She gives her Father a hug before looking at Mordred who looks white sad to leave. "You are going to stay with my Father and Dad aren't you Mordred?" She asked and Mordred's frown deepened.

"I understand, they need you. We don't want Morgana making an attack on Camelot without you there don't you? Not when Merlin is pregnant, he is weak during this time"

She then looked at Arthur, "I am sad to see him leave, but it's not like I am going to bawl like a child!"

Merlin chuckled, and Arthur rolled his eyes, Mordred smiled. "Thank you, but I have to say that I don't want to leave as much as you don't want me to leave. We are friends and we can always write letters and talk to our minds"

Maree brightened, "Yes, I'll send you an owl if you want. We can be pen pals!" She gave Mordred a hug, "I'll tell you all about my studies"

"Then, you will have some fun for me"

"I will"

Maree gave Mordred another hug before the bell rang and she had to leave, "Goodbye!" She waved as she ran off to her first class.

"I hope she goes well" Mordred said as they saw her off.

"Mordred, let's go home and take of Morgana. We have to get married and protect our kingdom" Merlin proceeded and they all went into a car.

The first thing that they were met with was a few distressed guards, Merlin's brow raised and they approached them.

"Sire, something has been stolen from the Museum, leaving with no evidence on the security cameras" They said to Arthur. Arthur felt himself get concerned, "What was stolen?" He asked.

"It was an ancient artefact called "The Cup of Life"" The guard was white as he told them and then Mordred, Merlin and Arthur's faces went just as white as his own. "When was this?!" Arthur was nearly close to screaming.

"It happened last night around twelve o'clock, the cup was checked on at seven to see if security was in good condition and safe in the dungeons but it disappeared without a trace…..the cameras show no evidence of the person who took it"

"Tell me what you see on the cameras"

"Nothing, the cup….just…vanished…." The guard was looking at the ground now to evade Arthurs seething face, he looked at Merlin who looked pale as a sheet.

"Morgana" He seethed, "The cup of Life is extremely dangerous and can be used as a weapon, we need to have Camelot in a full lockdown and we need everyone to evacuate!"

The guard ran off to do his job and Merlin went up to Arthur with Mordred behind him.

"Arthur, we need our armies, our soldiers on the ready, battle wizards, I'll gather my senior pupils. We need all the support, the police, FBI, anyone and everyone. You know what Morgana can do, she will gather other countries that oppose against you and she will create a war"

"Yes, and she has picked the worst time to do it" He grabbed Merlin's hand and took him straight into the castle along with Mordred staying right close to them, it wasn't long until Gwen joined them.

"Arthur!" She was panicking, "We have already been starting to lock down everything in the entire Kingdom"

"Good, that is what we need. And we have to have everyone out of here, contact anyone, police, the forces, anything. I am going to have Merlin secured inside the castle with heavily armed guards to look after him" Then he looked at Mordred, "And you are not to leave his side, do not worry about me. Merlin is our full priority"

Mordred nodded, his hand holding his sword to show that he is battle ready.

"Arthur" Merlin spoke as if he was realising something, "This might what Albion needs you for, to keep Morgana away from this world. The world we build, the world we strive to protect"

Then he looked into his eyes, "Albion needs you, your- our people need you, our once and future King"

Arthur nodded, "Now I will play my part, you will keep in hiding, safe, away from harm, you and our son. I will make sure that Hogwarts is safe as well, Maree is a fighter, she will live"

Merlin nodded back, "Go, take of everything. Have a potion at the ready" He said and took out a potion from one of his pockets and gave it to Arthur. "Be safe"

"Come on Merlin, we have to go straight to your emergency chambers" Mordred informed him and Merlin went straight with him and they hurriedly went to the emergency chambers that kept spirits well out, locking the door after themselves Mordred double checked the door as Merlin sat down on the bed.

"Does Morgana know of these chambers?" Mordred asked, "I cannot be sure about that, this section of this castle wasn't touched after the west side was remade with an extension. So she may know, she was Uther's ward"

"Good thing that she won't be able to get down here then" Mordred went ahead and lit the candles around the room to make some light, it was pitch black because there isn't a window. And cold too, so he needs to make sure that Merlin keeps warm.

"She doesn't have to. If she gets people to side with her, then they can get in here in her place" Merlin huddles up and makes a fire at the fire place to keep warm. "So that's why I am here, with magic, I will make sure that you are kept safe at all costs"

"Thank you" Merlin said as Mordred grabbed a blanket and put it over Merlin. "Camelot is only ten years old in this era, it's still young so it's no wonder why Morgana has chosen to attack us now. And we don't know how long she has been around, she may have been preparing an army while we were building our kingdom"

"Camelot is much stronger than it ever was Merlin"

"The world is stronger, Mordred. German Nazi's, ISIS, the FBI, there is even strong voices like Luther King. I have fought the world wars Mordred, I just hope that this doesn't make a new one"

"We have more countries siding with us, we all have strength, and love, like yours for Arthur will always overtake hate. We will win, no matter what it takes" Mordred said.

"Thank you, you are right. We will win"

Mordred goes over to the electrical heater but Merlin stops him, "No. Morgana will be able to trace this place by the electricity, better not turn it on"

"You're right" Mordred said, surprised and left the heater alone. "Any gas or electricity devices are left to be turned off, therefore I am only using the fireplace"

"But the smoke…."

"It connects to the kitchens chimney, no one knows"

"Smart, good thing that you know every inch of the Castle, even things that I don't know"

Merlin smirked, "Right now, we have to stay safe in here, and look after the baby"

A little hole opened up from the door and a plate of fruit comes in for Merlin before the hole closes, food, just when Merlin gets hungry. "Food, great" Merlin collects it and starts eating, munching the fruit down to slithers before swallowing to prevent morning sickness.

"I will make sure that you will get some too, you cannot protect me without any strength" Merlin said through gobbling his food, and then the hole through the door opened again which slid through a plate for Mordred as well.

Mordred grabbed it and ate next to Merlin.

A few boring hours later, Merlin was full of goosebumps" "I wonder how Arthur is doing….?"

And then the door opened with Arthur coming through, he sighed of relief and hugged him after the door closed. "Is everyone safe?" He asked. "Yes, the whole field of police is with me and Camelot is heavily guarded. We have picked up suspicious movement from opposing countries, it could be war that Morgana is setting up, she's working fast"

"How much support do we have?"

"Everyone's, everyone came right away. We have armies at the ready, they heard me, and they came…."

"Merlin, what can we do to destroy the cup of life?" Mordred asked, "You know it cannot be destroyed Mordred" Merlin said sadly, "You're a druid, you know that"

"I know, I just wish that if anyone had an idea to destroy it in some way, it would kill Morgana's plans somehow. Unfortunately, we don't have a single idea"

Then Merlin looked down at Excalibur, "Maybe….with the magic of Excalibur, you could destroy it. I don't know but it's not impossible right? It's the only weapon that can kill the immortal"

"Can it kill ghosts?"

"No, but you will need the horn, and a spell, I know one, you'll just need to practise it" Merlin goes and gets one of the spell books from one of the shelves, "It is very difficult for your own magic, but we can destroy her soul with this…." Merlin went flipping through pages and pointed to a spell. Arthur's eyes widened at the writing.

"That is too difficult for myself Merlin, I'd die"

"I can't do it myself, it'll put too much stress on the baby. Maybe even kill him"

"Then I'll do it" Mordred spoke aloud. "But Mordred, it requires effort-"

"I'll do it, even if I die, millions of people's lives are much more than myself"

Merlin gasped, "Are you sure?"

"Merlin…..I don't want to see a Camelot with destruction and hate. I'd like to have it with peace and harmony, no matter if I will see it or not"

"Alright. Then Excalibur must be full protected, no one else should touch it"

"You're right" Arthur nodded, but he refused Merlin to enchant it, and have Mordred do it instead.

"So if we can find out where Morgana is hiding, we can destroy her and kill the cup of life"

"That can be an effective way to stop her"

"And we have to move as soon as possible"

Arthur then looked at Mordred, "I guess you are coming with me" Then he looked at Merlin, "I will have Gwen with you"

"She's head of the court" Merlin pointed out, "She can't be looking after me, Camelot needs to stay strong"

"Merlin, I can't just have a guard with you, it's not enough!"

Merlin sighed, "I can't believe I'm still saying this" He then put his hand on his sword, "I am coming with you then, it's not like Morgana can kill me"

" _Merlin_ " Arthur sighed, "What about our baby?"

"No one is touching him either. You know he's safe with me, even with little magic, I _am_ magic, I can still access some more magic as needed, it is just harder to access because of the baby"

Arthur sighed again. "I guarantee you that he will be perfectly safe" Merlin assured him and gave him a kiss. "Alright. You never listen to me anyway"

Merlin grinned. "Too right. Now let's get out of here and find out where Morgana is"

"Alright but be careful, the castle is quite full of guards. And the court is seriously unhappy" Arthur motioned for Mordred to follow and they all went out the door and to the light of the court room. All of the members were chattering amongst each other and the entire police force was there and it was overcrowded with guards.

"King Arthur" Gwen spoke and bowed, then everyone stopped speaking and the chatter died down. "Merlin" She breathed, "Aren't you supposed to be in the emergency chambers?"

"I am here with Arthur because I am here to be by his side and be his support to protect Camelot at all costs"

"You are pregnant Merlin" Gwen pointed out, "Doesn't mean that I cannot do my duty, the greatest sorcerer that ever walk the earth cannot be cowering in an emergency chamber. I will do what is needed with Arthur, because Camelot comes first"

"And that will be the end of it. Now do we have any updates?" Arthur asked, and looked at the chief policeman. "Morgana has been sighted by one of our sorcerers, she is in the forest nearby. Clearly because she cannot go any further than she has been in her life, however it seems that she has been in contact with the crystal cave and an army is coming here straight at Camelot"

"How big are the numbers?"

"It seems that Morgana has been using the crystals to contact enemy countries. They seem to claim that their own god is giving them messages, and they are responding to her own orders"

Arthur sighed, "Merlin and I have a plan to carry out. We know how to stop her. I am going to gather all of my Knights. In the meantime, Gwen, you are in charge, I need you to make sure that Camelot stays protected and that we have our armies at the ready for anyone that plans to attack"

"Yes your majesty" Gwen nodded and the court stood. "We will be off, we will make contact as soon as we stop Morgana, the sooner, the better we will prevent a war"

Arthur eyed his knights and they stepped up to go along with him. They went straight to the round table where their maids came with their armour, swords, chainmail, new weapons such as guns and bullet proof suits. Also Arthur's katakana which he was delighted to see, "Thank you" He said and dismissed them all.

"Right" Arthur sat down in his chair where Merlin sat right next to him, Elyan, Lancelot, Gwaine, Mordred, Leon and Percival all joined them. "We have tried to reason with Morgana, but it seems that she doesn't want to reason with us. However on the plus side we have a way to get rid of her once and for all" He then looked at Merlin, and he stood up. "Centuries ago after Uther had died, we had done the same thing with his spirit. And the only way to send it off to the spirit world is to blow a horn that was given to us. However, this is a spirit that has mended through to the physical world. To send her away where she can never interact with us again"

"A horn?" Elyan asked, "It is a horn that calls someone from the spirit world, you can step into it so you interact with a person you want to see, but if you look back at the person before you leave, the spirit will set free from the spirit world"

The knights looked at each other, "What happens when one is set free?"

Merlin cleared his throat and looked at Arthur who frowned, "Strange things happen, a cold gust of wind, broken chandelier….opening doors….accidents"

" _Merlin_ " Arthur raised his voice, and then Percival's eyes widened, "My shoulder mysteriously got cut by an axe…."

"The chandelier at the meeting…." Gwaine pointed out.

"Gwen got mysteriously attacked…." Leon said which Elan flipped his head to. "What?"

Arthur sighed heavily. "Sire, was someone set free in Camelot those centuries ago?" Mordred asked, "It was my Father" Arthur said and their mouths dropped, "But let's get back on course, Merlin has an available spell that Mordred can use in order to get rid of Morgana if we blow the horn. If possible it'll cancel anything she plans to throw at us"

"I can use the crystal cave to stop whoever has sided with her" Merlin added, "That is our plan"

"Wait- you're coming with us Merlin?" Elyan exclaimed, "Are you alright to come in that sort of position to put your child in danger?"

"I am coming with you all, because this is our fight. Besides, I can't stay here waiting for you to come back, I want to do at least something" Merlin concluded and sighed, "I have enough magic to keep our child safe and fight at the same time"

"Don't worry, I trust Merlin. If he can do it, then he can do it. He's stronger than any of us"

Merlin blushed a bit.

"Alright"

Then two men came in, it was the church priests. "Oh" Merlin breathed, surprised to see them. "Sorry for interrupting this meeting but we have just developed something that we believe to be useful for you Lord Merlin" Gary spoke.

"You do?"

A maid from behind him handed him a box, he opened it to reveal shining gold armour. "This…"

"This is an enchanted armour, I believe that it will protect you from dark magic, first of its kind. So this will look after your child whenever you are on the battlefield"

Merlin smiled, feeling grateful. "Thank you. This will be very helpful, I am delighted to receive this gift" He looked at the engraving on the armour, there showed the Pendragon symbol and below a shining sun as if it was marking his own pregnancy. "I asked the makers to create that sun, to show your gift Merlin"

"Gift?"

"It doesn't matter what we believe Merlin, you are a good man. The fact about what you have done for all of us doesn't change anything"

"Thank you Gary. But there is one thing that I have forgotten to tell you"

"Yes sire?"

"Religion descended from magic, they have a connection that is ignored most of the time. You have a belief that there is some sort of force that creates everything and magic is created into many different beliefs from many minds, and that is what makes religion special, that is why I am no against it. It guides you and boy does it! So when you pray…..magic can hear you, because it is the air, it's in you and all around you"

Gary's mouth gaped, Merlin stopped him. "Don't start worshipping me Gary, you'll over flatten me and I don't think I'll be able to handle that"

Arthur snorted quietly. Gary closed his mouth, "You are all good people, let respect guide you, but don't let your beliefs take away your own opinions. Follow your heart and what is good and fair, and just, that is what Arthur represents"

Gary nodded. "I thank you good man. And you will be given back so much more, for the gift you have given me"

"I bid you good luck my Lord" Gary bowed, and he left.

There was a bit of silence before Arthur spoke, "What did you mean by that?"

"I was your servant, I did your chores for ten years in the past, and what did I get?" Merlin asked, Arthur blushed, "Friendship…..love"

"Then I gave love back, then a child, along with another"

"I get your point, let's move on shall we?" Arthur turned around to the knights who were sniggering, Merlin just smiled.

"We set off as soon as possible. We have to stop her intentions of creating a possible war"

And they all set to work, Merlin and Arthur had to put on appropriate wear for fighting. Whilst Merlin put on Arthur's bullet proof suit before putting on his armour, Arthur put on Merlin's new armour that he was just given. Merlin handed him his katakana for him to have alongside Excalibur and a gun that held silver bullets just in case if anyone immortal comes by, everyone else did the same as Arthur and packed everything including the horn up, they all swallowed down a potion for them to see Morgana and once they were geared and ready, they went back to the police to confirm her location and go went.

They went on some horses with Mordred settling behind both Merlin and Arthur.

"We could be going into a trap, she's at the crystal cave" Merlin pointed out, "Yes but she isn't giving us much of a choice now is she?" Arthur said, "We have to act fast like we did last time to prevent any disaster, and one is coming up, she has an army. The ISIS people are rising up thinking that their god is talking to them or something"

"They lost a war years ago, there is no surprise that they would want revenge. And a strong point to take would be Camelot, whilst it's weak with my magic all loose"

Arthur groaned, but they sped up and kept going.

Once they arrived there, they got off their horses and approached the cave cautiously, quietly they went inside.

"Hello dear brother" Morgana sneered once they saw her, "What a lovely surprise" and gave them an evil smile before looking at Merlin, "I am surprised, you never leave Arthur's side. Even when you are carrying Arthur's unborn son"

"We are here to finish this Morgana, you have threatened our peace in Camelot"

"Well I am not surprised, you were brave enough to fall into my trap" She then turned her head at Merlin and her spiritual figure started to move into the air and straight at Merlin.

"She's trying to encase herself into him!" Mordred warned, but it took no effect, the armour repelled her off, sending shock waves into her. But she acted fast, "Gah!"

"The horn" Mordred breathed, and the rest of the knights surrounded her. Arthur pulled out the horn from his side and Mordred started to cast the spell, he backed away from her as to not let her interrupt his spell and Merlin drew out his sword.

"You'll never hurt my son and get away with it. What did you do with the cup of life?!" Merlin asked, almost yelling. As Morgana settled, she snarled at him, "It may not give me immortal life, but it will give my army immortality"

Merlin went pale, "No, Camelot will be surrounded. Where is it Morgana?"

"It will be somewhere you will never find it"

Merlin frowned, and then Arthur sounded the horn. Like Uther did, she exploded and her spirit broke apart in pieces, leaving no single trace of her.

"We need to find that cup" Arthur said, and they ran out of the cave, immediately they were met with violent shouting and roaring from all around them. "It's the army!" Arthur exclaimed and pulled out Excalibur. And the rest of the knights roared into battle, immediately Mordred put up a barrier around themselves, "Go and ask the crystals about the cups location Merlin!" He shouted.

"Right" Merlin nodded and ran straight back in, approaching the crystals he placed a hand on one of them. "Please tell me…where the cup is!". Looking straight into the crystals they gave him multiple images of a different country, the army's home country he supposed and found it laying in an area heavily guarded. He swore, and ran back out, "The cup is back in another country Arthur!" He shouted amongst all of the noise.

"SHIT!" Arthur swore, he really didn't have any time for this. "I will have to teleport the both of us there!" Merlin suggested, "Of all things Merlin, you really are convenient during these times" Arthur commented.

"Will you be okay?" He asked Mordred who looked quite strained and physically exhausted, "Yes, I can hold out for ten minutes"

"Alright, Arthur, we need to get right there as fast as we can before Mordred is unable to hold the armies off"

"Come on" Arthur grabbed his hand and Merlin quickly uttered a long spell and teleported themselves to the area. As it was guarded, Arthur moved quickly to knock the guards out before they got to the cup, "Come on Merlin, time to break this dangerous thing"

Merlin nodded before Arthur raised his sword with magic, and the cup came in contact with a blow against the sword, with all of Arthur's strength, it snapped in half and fell to the ground with blood spilling out of the cup and onto the floor.

"YES!"

"We didn't exactly destroy it, but we put it out of its use" Merlin smiled, feeling mighty relieved and then they picked the two pieces up, "Time to go home and end this Merlin"

They teleported and Merlin frowned, he felt his stomach feeling quite strained so he collected up more magic to calm down. Approaching the crystals in the cave again, he put his hand on and closed his eyes to the armies.

 _"_ _Retreat, Camelot has won, you are to leave and never set a foot in their territories again"_ He thought, hoping that the soldiers will have heard, he let go, unsure and looked at Arthur. "Has it worked?" He asked, and Arthur went outside to hear the knights cheer, "They're retreating! They did it we won!" Gwaine hollered.

Arthur and Merlin sighed heavily, thank god it was over. Hopefully Camelot wasn't touched. "We did Mordred!". With no reply, Leon turned around to see Mordred who looked awfully exhausted and looked like he was about to faint. "Oh, Merlin! Guys- Arthur-" Percival called out and Merlin ran out before Mordred could fall and caught him in his arms. After taking a look at him, he could feel that he was right out of energy.

"He's alright, barriers for Mordred himself are very difficult to do, it absorbs your energy" Merlin assured, explaining as the knights gathered around Mordred, "He probably absorbed all of the bullets the army tried to shoot at us, it's terrifyingly hard work" He put a hand on his forehead, he was hot, "Can you guys please help him up for me?"

"No worries" Lancelot grabbed his body and hauled him up to carry him over his shoulder, "Thank you Lancelot" Merlin said. "Now let's go back to Camelot to handle everything else that may be hanging around to try and interfere with us"

They all nodded and mounted their horses without a single word.

Merlin held the cup of life in his hands as they got back and the court were happy with their return, "The predicted armies seemed to have retreated your majesty" The head police said, "I see that your quest has been successful"

Lancelot carefully laid Mordred down, and Gaius hurriedly went up to him. "Yes, we have retrieved the cup of life. If it were in Morgana's hands the armies would have been immortal and Camelot would have fallen, it is now broken and out of its use. It's over, Morgana is gone"

Gwen smiled happily. "We will have to hold track of those armies and take a hold of them before we can be sure that Camelot is safe" She said, "Please do, give me updates whenever one comes up. Then I will give my word for people to come back"

Gwen nodded and the rest of the court started clapping happily, "For the love of Camelot!" They all shouted in unison.

They all wanted to celebrate, but it wasn't over yet until it was all under control and clam again before anyone can feel safe to come back to Camelot, plus, they turned their attention to Mordred first.

"Will he be alright Gaius?" Arthur asked, "Yes, he is merely exhausted, he will need a good rest"

"I will have him carried down to his chambers, are you comfortable to look after him in there?" Arthur asked, "That is no worry, Camelot is empty, might as well look after him to spend time"

"Thank you Gaius, let him know that we are alright if he wakes" Arthur received help for Gaius and let them go off to Mordred's chambers.

"Well princess, we will be waiting if you ever need us, we'll be in the armoury" Gwaine said and the knights bid their farewells. After they were long gone, Arthur sighed, "Come on Merlin, I am all sweaty, let's go to our chambers and take a well-earned bath shall we?"

Merlin nodded, "Let's go Arthur, I am sweaty too" He agreed and they went off to their own chambers, first Arthur took off Merlin's armour and stripped off his clothes before tending to his own to leave Merlin to prepare the spa.

Merlin had taught Arthur how to dress and undress himself when he isn't around, it's surprisingly easy to do in the end except for the struggles at the start which was a laugh for Merlin to see Arthur struggling to put his pants on, Merlin received a lot of glares from Arthur that time. But after time he just let it sink in.

He heard running water, and soon it stopped, so he walked down to the antechambers and into the bathroom where he saw Merlin unexpectedly jump into the spa which caused a major splash across the room. "Whoo!" He cheered.

" _Merlin!_ " Arthur complained, shaking his body off the water that splashed on him. He smiled, "What are you doing? You're sweaty, pregnant and you just jumped in!" He laughed. "It just feels good Arthur, why don't you try it, just stretch yourself out and be free, loosen your strings as a King"

"But what about you? You're about to become my consort"

"Well….I enjoy working and being by your side, so loosen up and enjoy working alongside myself. You'll get someone to annoy and dump some papers on"

Arthur rolled his eyes and smiled. _"He still remembers the time when I told him that I usually dream about escaping my duties and becoming a farmer rather than a prince, but really….when I work with him I forget about the pressures"_

Merlin smiled, he knows that he can hear his thoughts. "One word. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

Arthur was bewildered by that word, "What?"

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" Merlin chuckled, "Can you say it?"

Arthur frowned, "That doesn't seem possible for me at all, I haven't had centuries to practise that" He said, going into the spa and relaxing right next to Merlin. "It didn't take me long, you just have to have a twisty tongue"

"Oh, what can I say, you are really good with it"

Merlin laughed. "Insulting me…." Arthur added, "Calling me a prat and whatnot, whining….and" He raised an eye, "Kissing me"

"Is that an invitation?"

"It's your words coming out of that mouth of yours Merlin" And he leaned in to kiss him, straight away after the first their tongues came in contact and their mouths allowed each other in. Arthur put a hand on Merlin's cheek to feel those bones working at it as his tongue moved along his own and Merlin put his arms around Arthur's neck.

Their kisses were absorbing, they both knew that and they were drawn in without a break for what felt like hours. It was intoxicating, after time they could feel drool going down their lips and finally they gave up when their mouths started to feel tired. To finish up, they kissed with only their lips. "Time to bathe Kingy" Merlin brushed Arthur's still dry hair with his wet hands.

Grabbing a small shovel that was bought for Maree when she was three years old, he scooped up some water and poured it over his hair, ruffling it he got some shampoo and got to work.

In the middle of washing down Arthur after washing his hair, he started to feel tired and his eyes started to droop. Noticing this, he didn't want to fall asleep so he opened his eyes when he felt his eye move down. "Tired?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, just let me finish…."

"I'll do the rest, let me do the rest of the work for us. Just sleep and I'll take care of you" He said, taking the wash cloth out of Merlin's hands and holds him as Merlin nodded and let himself fall asleep.

Arthur carefully washed Merlin through fully, _"He must be tired after today's events, he used a certain amount of magic too. Like Mordred, he just needs sleep"_

After washing him down, he carried him out of the spa and dried them both up. He wrapped a towel around his waist and hauled Merlin up, once he went of the antechambers and to his bedroom he almost had a scare when he saw John the Christian priest standing there. John almost had a fright himself. "Sorry sire, I was awaiting your presence"

Arthur looked down at Merlin and back at John, "Just be silent, Merlin is asleep, he's tired"

John nodded with understanding. And Arthur laid Merlin into bed and put the covers over him, automatically, Merlin put an arm over Arthur. "I'll be there in a moment" Arthur whispered and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He took Merlin's arm off and put it back close to his chest to cling to the sheets and turned to John.

"What can I do for you John? Have things settled a bit?" He asked, raising his head. "Yes sire, things have been held down under control and the police are quite happy with the situation. If nothing happens tomorrow, you can allow people to come back"

"Good. I will tell Merlin in the morning, he gets concerned for me. Thank you for bringing me the news, it is getting late, the sun will go down soon, take some rest. You deserve some after all the mayhem"

"Thank you sire" John bowed and turned around to leave, but the stopped to see Arthur going over to Merlin to caress his cheek and hair, soothing his love. Love reflected in his eyes, his eyes were also shining.

Arthur, not noticing that John hasn't left yet, he started to sing.

 _"_ _You're the song that the trees sing, when the wind blows. You're a flower, you're a river, you're a rainbow"_

John's mouth almost dropped at the sweet sound of his voice, as if it he was also hearing the love for Merlin in his voice. Still there, he listened.

 _"_ _I've loved you the first time, I saw you. And I will always, will love you Merlin"_

How does a great King possibly love such a powerful sorcerer? It was said that in the legends that Merlin's Father was an incubus that impregnated women, which was how merlin was born, and how he got such powers. But this Merlin had a human Mother and Father, and unlike other sorcerers at the time, he wasn't feared, he was like everyone else. Only with a certain gift.

"Sire….."

Arthur flinched. "John?!"

"I apologise sire. I am afraid that I don't understand why you give him such love"

Pulling himself together, Arthur sighed. "Like Merlin says, people fear things that they don't understand. Like when you first came in, you started to accuse Merlin of things that he isn't before even getting to know him. I understand that very well. When Merlin told me that he had magic, I experienced a great deal of shock. I didn't know what to believe, but after coming to understand how much he took care of me and saved my life so many times. He wasn't like the other sorcerers that we have encountered"

John frowned. "So, don't judge people straight away based on your own beliefs. That's called generalising, one person may be evil but that doesn't mean that Merlin is"

"But still sire, why do you love him?"

"I should be asking myself that question. I don't understand what kind of love you give your own god"

"I think you already do sire. A love a king has for his own people is similar to gods own"

Arthur smirked, "Of course. But he chooses to love his people, I didn't choose to love Merlin"

"Sire- did someone force you to-"

"No! Of course not! It wasn't a choice, it is a feeling that I have for him. And it was always there since we met, it just wasn't noticed. But…..after a while you start to notice…"

Arthur looked at Merlin again, "There are so many wonderful things about him, he cares so much. And noticing that makes me happy alone. I may be a prat to him but I guess that is a positive thing on my side, it is what keeps us going. But it's the feeling alone that keeps us together"

John sighed, "He is pregnant at the moment as I have heard?" He asked. "Yes. Want to see him?". "By magic?" John asked, startled by the word of magic. "Yes. It's alright, just a peek"

"If you insist sire"

Arthur lowered the blankets a bit and placed his hand on Merlin's belly, as if it was responding to his touch, a golden glow revealed on his belly, showing a small little embryo inside. Arthur's eyes glow gold in response. "I can only do this because I am the Father"

"Extraordinary!" He gasped. Arthur smiled, "Looks like he is healthy, better leave him to rest" He raised his hand and the gold glow faded away. He grabbed the sheets and put them over Merlin.

"He makes this possible by magic am I correct?" John asked. "Yes, using magic itself makes it possible for people to have children"

As if he understood, he nodded his head. "Thank you for showing me. I must be leaving now, you need your privacy my lord"

"No worries at all"

When John left, Arthur joined Merlin in bed.

…

"Is he gone?" Merlin asked, Arthur jumped. "You were listening?!"

"I am all ears when you sing that lullaby to me. Of course I was listening" Merlin rolled over to snug up closer to Arthur. "I am tired. Goodnight"

"Goodnight Merlin" Arthur gave him a kiss on his forehead and went to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12 - A dream

Merlin twisted and turned around in the King sized bed, he knows that Arthur can feel every vibration and squeak when he moves.

"Merlin? What's worrying you? Camelot is alright, there hasn't been much danger since last night" Arthur said.

"No…..I am uncomfortable"

"Really. Surely, after so many centuries sleeping in a bed like that excuse in your old chambers in the back of Gaius's own, you should be comfortable"

"It's my stomach Arthur I'm afraid" And Arthur shot up, "Is there something wrong?! I checked last night, he was alright, I am sure"

"No Arthur, you are right…..it's just…."

And then Merlin's stomach rose, he knew what that feeling was immediately and got up. "Arthur…..bucket! I think its morning sickness!"

Arthur hurriedly hauled a bucket up from underneath the bed and gave it to Merlin, Merlin quickly grabbed it before throwing up.

"There we go, the first stage of pregnancy, and then remember your magic going haywire?"

Retching, Merlin nodded and Arthur went up close to rub his back, "There there…..let it all out. I'll go and get a washcloth for you" Arthur gets up and goes to the bathroom to get a washcloth and a cup of water and came back. Merlin had stopped for a while so he wiped his mouth and gave him the drink of water, "Thank you" And Merlin took a couple of sips before giving it back.

"Feeling alright?"

Merlin nodded, "My stomach has gotten down for now". "I just hope that I can get some more proper rest" He said, looking a bit white in the face. "Just drink some more water and go to sleep" Arthur checks the clock beside their bed, "It's 5 am, so we still have a few hours"

Merlin nodded and put the bucket down beside him on the floor before Arthur positioned him on his chest so he can get comfortable, they held hands and went to sleep.

As they felt a familiar light, soon, they woke up and Merlin felt better than before so he got up to go and grab the bucket to clean up. But strangely, it was gone, has Arthur slipped away from him and cleaned it up or did one of the maids clean it up for him? He then looked at Arthur next to him and he looked like he was fine, then he got up, noticing that he has no clothes on, he better get dressed soon.

"Mordred?"

He looked around for him but he isn't there, strange, maybe is still tired after yesterday's events. So he opened the usual cupboard and saw Arthur's old clothes. He frowned, "Arthur, where are my clothes?" He asked. But the King is still asleep. He didn't want to wake him so he opened the drawers and found no clothes of his own, blinking his eyes he looked around the chambers.

" _Oh no"_

There is no trace of Merlin's belongings at all, so what the heck is he supposed to wear?

"Arthur, Arthur" Merlin went over to the sleeping Arthur and started shaking him. "Wha- what?" Arthur opened his eyes and looked at Merlin, "What is the matter?"

"My magic has drawn us into the past like the last time I was pregnant. And all of my clothes are missing"

With the realisation, Arthur opened his eyes widened and grinned. "Merlin, do you know what this means?"

"What? Don't tell me that you have something pratty up in that head of yours"

"Of course I do. We can do whatever we want for an entire day! Fool around in the kitchens, take a day's ride in the forest, if my Father is here we can do whatever we could never do in Camelot, and maybe see that dragon of yours. Anything we want! For one day!"

Merlin had been laughing all through Arthurs choices for the day, "Okay, but first we have to get my clothes you prat"

"I'll go get em' then, lock the door while I'm away" Arthur quickly gets dressed with his old tunic and trousers, then kisses Merlin before he leaves. Straight out the door he jogged through the castle and travelled down to go to Gaius's chambers, he felt completely light as a feather with a hint of pratness that has listed things to do for the day. He knocked on Gaius's chambers and came right in by habit from Merlin and saw Gaius brewing a potion.

"Good morning sire, you seem quite peppy this morning. What can I do for you?" Gaius asked, "Doing a chore for Merlin" He said which made Gaius raise an eyebrow so high that it was covered by his hair. "Just got to go to his room to grab something" He went straight to Merlin's chambers and grabbed his clothes, he went to the door and stopped, he went back to the bed and went under Merlin's bed to lift a floorboard that uncovered Merlin's magic book. They can do anything within a dream of Merlin's memories, so if they wanted to do anything amazingly stupid, he will need this. He grabbed it, put the floorboard back in place before going out of his room.

However Gaius spotted what he had grabbed, "Sire, why have you gotten Merlin's clothes?" He asked before he spotted the book, "Sire….thats…er…" The man was lost for words. "I know! He is very special isn't he Gaius?" Arthur said which took the man back, "You must be proud to have such a special nephew like Merlin himself"

Gaius became bewildered in amazement of Arthurs words, with that Arthur dismissed himself from the chambers and left, leaving Gaius in utter surprise.

Arthur went straight back to his chambers and gave Merlin his clothes, Merlin hurriedly put his clothes on and Arthur took the pride to put on Merlin's neckerchief for him. "Come on, let's go to the kitchens and grab some breakfast"

"Gladly" Merlin smiled at Arthurs smirk and went out with him to start their day of being a pair of utter prats.

They went straight to the kitchens, looking at each other to form the perfect plan to get around the bossy cook, Merlin grabbed a large jug and Arthur nodded "Just like how you stole my sausages Merlin"

As they hid behind the chickens, they spotted a hook tied on a string and Merlin immediately recognised it, Merlin tapped Arthurs shoulder and looked up. Gwaine and Percival were planning to steal something of their own, sniggering to themselves Merlin grabbed the hook and put it under a chicken before motioning to hoist it up. And then they moved to the other side of the room, Merlin stood up and held the jug behind him as the chef chased after the escapee chicken.

Arthur hid behind a table behind Merlin and uttered words to collect pieces of meat and vegetables from various tables and into the jug behind Merlin. The spell wingardium leviosa made things simple for Arthur to levitate things, he didn't have his wand anyway, at least it worked.

"Hey! What are _you_ doing here?" The cook glared at Merlin once she saw him and he just shrugged, "I'm getting Arthurs breakfast" As the cook motioned for him to leave he stood there while he could feel the jug getting heavier by the minute and refused to leave until he got Arthurs breakfast. Then when it was full he saw a pan motioning in mid-air heading towards the cooks head and had the urge to snigger.

"What's so funny?!" The cook hollered at him, "Nothing" Merlin played innocent, his face scrunched hard. And then there was a big BANG, as the cook fell to the floor upon all of the noise in the kitchen and then Arthur got up, grabbed Merlin's hand and they ran out like a bunch of scattering rats. They headed to one of their known hiding spots and as they sat, they both let out a burst of laughter.

"Well done Arthur!" Merlin said as he sat down the huge jug, "Let's see what you got…" They both found some meat and potatoes, also some vegetables and they scuffed them down.

"Arthur?"

They both froze, and in unison they lifted their heads to see Avragaine looking at them with the strangest expression of finding them hiding and scuffing their food like children.

Merlin took a bone out of his mouth and put it in the jug slowly and looked at Arthur who looked lost for words, _"Run"_ Merlin whispered to him in his head and they slowly got up as Avragaine waited for an explanation. Then they both sped out of their hiding spot past Avragaine and ran for it.

"Hey!" Avragaine yelled as he ran after them, but they were faster and they ran right out of the castle and hid in the stables where they heard Avragaine run past.

"Phew, that was a close one" Arthur gasped, "I certainly did not expect Avragaine to be here"

"Me either" Merlin panted. "We better avoid him, he's in league with Morgana"

"Right"

Merlin then found that they had left their jug behind, "You full?" He asked since his stomach seems to be satisfied with the food it received. "Yeah, what shall we do next?" Arthur gives Merlin a smug look. "Why don't we take a walk around Camelot to take a look at how it looked before the modern times? Take in some….precious memories"

Arthur smiled, "I'd like that"

So they got out of the stables and took a leisurely walk around Camelot, hoping to avoid Avragaine. "I still remember all this, though the modern setting is quite similar" Merlin said.

"You are right, Camelot was built quite nicely I'd say"

"If we could, we'd take a camera, and take some photos to take back with us" They smiled, "I do not think that is possible when we are the only ones that are taken back into your memories of the past"

"I guess not"

As they walked around, Merlin felt quite younger than usual and had a strange urge to check whether he had a penis or was still pregnant. Arthur bought some apples and walnuts for the both of them to snack on next under a tree in the lower towns.

"Here, I'll show you how to crack open a walnut" Arthur demonstrated, "Like the eagles do, you throw the walnut on a rock, see if it's cracked, it makes it easier to open. If not, throw it again on the hard surface. Then just pull the nut out when you break it apart"

"Brilliant" Merlin gave it a try, but had a bit of difficulty pulling it apart so Arthur did that for him after Merlin threw a walnut at a rock, checking it and passing it to Arthur. One for Arthur, one for Merlin, and on. Arthur threw some nut into Merlin's mouth, at one point it went down his throat and choked but managed to haul it up and eat it right. Then they delicious apples went down their stomachs, organic ones, unlike some sales in Camelot now when they apply chemicals to get them to grow faster. Most of them are hurried with magic.

"Ah" Merlin sighed, "This is great, just a nice day out" He leaned against Arthur's shoulder and relaxed. "I agree"

Then Merlin's urge rose and pulled his pants open for him to see, "Huh, we're in our younger bodies" He said as he saw that he is male again. "This is only in our brains though"

Arthur frowned, "You're right, I have been feeling a little off…as if I have less bruises" Then he looked at Merlin and felt him up which made Merlin stifle a whimper, he smirked, "Ah, now that you're a virgin, you're much more sensitive eh?"

"That will go the same for you, you prat" Merlin swatted Arthurs hands away. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to relax" He shuffled his body against the tree trunk to relax. But Arthur keeps smirking, getting closer to Merlin's ear and whispering, "This would be a very….amazing opportunity to claim you while we are both in very…..innocent bodies"

This sent his words straight to his groin, he opened one eye. "You know we can't do that"

"Why not?"

"Because the entire castle will be able to hear me" He blushed, "And magic is outlawed" He closed his eyes again.

"That won't be an issue when we are out in the forest, no one will be able to see us or notice any magic"

Merlin opened both eyes, "Are you seriously claiming that you want to have sex with me in the forest in broad daylight?"

"We can find the same spot again in the future after we wake up" Arthur suggested in a singsong. "We can use my sword to mark the nearest tree so we will know"

Merlin smiled, "That's really sweet of you Arthur" He gives him a quick peck on the cheek, "But just loosen up, really, it feels like you're trying hard to make yourself attractive to me, it's kinda creepy"

Arthur frowned, "I was afraid that I was"

"Come on" Merlin sat himself up and faced Arthur, he then went to sit on his lap. "What do you say to attract me? We have been at this for ten years, surely you know"

Arthur blushed, looking into Merlin's eyes that showed a tinge of gold in them. Then, remembering, he smiled. "I'd comment on your beautiful gold eyes" He said, which made Merlin smile, "Go on" He said, looking very much attracted.

Arthur went on, "When I look into those eyes of yours, I see your soul, and everything that is beautiful about you. Magical, brave, never cowardly, unafraid, loyal, strong, and very precious to my entirety" He said softly, kissing both of Merlin's eyes as they shimmered at him. "Even if you saved me centuries ago or not, I would have bonded with you even then"

Remembering the bond they made, Merlin threatened to spill tears and struggled to hold them back. But he managed a wobbly smile and sniffed loudly, "Now…youre...just- making me cry!" He wiped his eyes to try and stop the spill of tears.

"Aw, come with me" Arthur stood them both up and went into the forest outside of Camelot for some privacy, and that's when Merlin started to cry his eyes out happily while clinging to Arthurs chest, wetting Arthurs shoulder. They dropped to the ground for a while and Arthur rubbed circles onto Merlin's back, as soon he started to calm down. They laid on the ground together.

"It feels sort of weird…..ten years ago I was a complete wreck, now….it's gone. All there is left is my love for you"

"I am glad. I am so happy for you Merlin"

"No. I am happy for us" Merlin smiled, "Now…" He pulled his shirt off along with his neckerchief, revealing his young and skinny body. "My physical form may be a bit….you know, bony"

Arthur looked up and down at his half naked body, "Don't worry, you're cute. Besides, I am perfectly happy to have my first time with you"

Chuckling, Merlin bent down to kiss him. "You got me"

Arthur looked around first to see if there was no one around, once they were done, they got right into it. "Come on, off with your shirt" Merlin tugged at Arthur's tunic and took it off.

"Your shoes Merlin" Arthur said through their kisses.

"Don't mind the shoes, they won't be in the way"

Improvising, as impatient as they both are, Merlin got up onto his knees and let Arthur pull his pants and undergarments down. Merlin gasped as the air touched his warmth, Arthur cupped his balls "A-Arthur.." Merlin groaned, his heartbeat started to pound and he was throbbing, his hips are ready to start moving.

"So sensitive Merlin" Arthur then grabbed Merlin's penis and started to stroke it, Merlin moved his head down to see what Arthur is doing, his face was already flushed red and was sweating. "This really does feel like my first time" He said.

"We will have to prepare you as well"

"No need" Merlin let out another moan and managed to mumble a spell, and felt himself loosen. "Done, first…let me go, I feel like I am already about to come…" he said, feeling himself already coming, his hips buckled and Arthur let go.

"Merlin, you're practically leaking" Arthur said and Merlin opened his eyes to look down, "Wow, I am" He was dripping all over Arthur's chest, "Sorry about that"

"No, don't worry about that, we're dreaming"

Merlin laughed softly, "Oh gosh, I am really bad" He let out a breath to relieve the pressure of coming a bit, "That was close though"

"I am quite at my limit as well Merlin, come on and lets find a good tree" Arthur lifted Merlin up and as they looked around for a tree, Merlin held his pans up so he could walk right.

Until they found the biggest tree, and the best that they recognised, they inspected it and agreed on it before the mood loosened. Merlin put his hands on the bark of the tree and let his pants slide down his legs then he felt Arthur position behind him. There was a sound of pants being dropped and then Merlin gasped a bit as he felt Arthurs against his arse.

"I'm going in Merlin" And he started to enter, unlike their own first time, he went in with ease and in no time he was all the way in. "Merlin" Arthur breathed, "You're so warm"

Merlin blushed, "Stop commenting on everything!"

"Stop complaining and let me move then" Arthur growled, Merlin sighed heavily. "It's so embarrassing…." Merlin mumbled to himself, then he managed to turn his head around and kiss Arthur sloppily before Arthur started to move. Merlin drew out a breath and sighed as he felt the pleasure of Arthur moving in and out.

Merlin had done no magic to cover their loud shameful voices that echoed in the forest or their appearance, nether less, Merlin didn't care, it was a dream and a beautiful one at that, and Arthur started to thrust into Merlin faster. Merlin used magic to take his boots and pants off before turning himself around and grabbing onto Arthur's shoulders, his back against the tree. Merlin sunk even lower onto Arthur's dick.

"Oh- that's even- oh god _Merlin_ " Arthur gasped, and held onto Merlin as he thrust in deeper, they both moaned as if it was their first time. "Arthur- I am going to cum already- oh- It feels so good…" His legs wrapped around Arthur's waist, squirming as his balls buckled up for release.

" _Arthur!_ " Merlin yelped as the pleasure shot through his entire body as he came, he felt himself tighten around Arthur which brought him to his own release. Merlin's head threw back and his eyes rolled back as he sighed, he could feel Arthur's own warm seed enter him, his own apparently ended up on Arthur's stomach. Gasping for breath, Arthur wiped Merlin's seed off his stomach and wiped it on the tree bark. "Territory claimed" He panted out.

Merlin let out a light chuckle at what Arthur just did, "Pull out and you can add your own"

"Good idea" And Arthur lifted Merlin up so he can use his fingers to empty out his entrance, his own cum dripped out of him and as Arthur emptied the contents, he wiped it on the tree. "That should do it" And let him put his feet down to the ground. "You alright?"

"Yeah" Merlin nodded and focused on putting his boots and pants back on, then grab their shirts, Arthur did the same. However, Merlin's arse throbbed, but it wasn't painful. Facing Arthur again, they both smiled. "That was amazing, quick, but amazing" Merlin said.

Arthur put Merlin's neckerchief back on and kissed him. Merlin kissed back and they were drawn into a nice moment of sweet bliss. Just slow sweet kisses while Merlin has his arms around his neck.

"You have tears in your eyes Merlin" Arthur wiped his eyes and Merlin just closed his eyes and rubbed his cheek against Arthur's hand.

"MERLIN!" They heard a shout which made them both jump. They turned to the sound, it was Gaius, looking shocked and bewildered at the sight of them.

Gaius approached them fast, "What do you think you two are doing?!" He yelled, "Arthur, I am shocked at you, I thought you proposed to Gwen yesterday!"

Arthur paled, _"So this is it Merlin? Is this how people reacted so long ago?"_

Merlin nodded, and grabbed tight onto Arthurs arms.

Gaius huffed, "You better explain yourself before Avragaine finds you, he has been looking all over!" He then eyed Merlin.

Merlin opened his mouth for an explanation, but it was too late, Avragaine came in with a bunch of guards. "ARTHUR! What are you doing- I find you snacking with some…servant and you run away!"

Merlin and Arthur look at each other and back at Avragaine. "He is not just some servant Uncle!" Arthur argued. "He's….." he looked back at Merlin and smiled when his heart filled with love, "He's…" Merlin smiled, "My whole world. It has been since the day we met"

Overwhelmingly shocked, Avragaine and Gaius dropped their mouths. "Sire" One of the guards said, and one of them gestured Avragaine to come over and he followed the guard to a familiar large tree nearby. The guard pointed to the marked territory, afraid of what Avragaine was seeing, he motioned for Gaius to come forward.

"Gaius, what is this? Don't tell me what I think it is….."

Gaius inspected it and frowned even deeper, "I am afraid it is what you think it is sire"

Avragaine was now full of fury and disappointment. "Explain this Arthur!"

Arthur strengthened up and huffed with pride, "That is our marked territory and I will not have you trespass it"

Merlin burst out laughing and Arthur grinned at his response to his specially chosen words, but Gaius and Avragaine were not impressed at all. "You are not my nephew Arthur, you have mated illegally with a man!"

Arthur huffed, "You are not my Uncle either, you're in league with Morgana"

Avragaine's eyes widened, but the tried to shake the surprise off by laughing. "Who told you that?"

"Merlin, tell him how much of a liar and a backstabber he is"

"I will not hear any of this from a mere servant. Guards, take them both away!"

"Merlin" Arthur stepped back and motioned for Merlin to do his thing. "Protect me like you always do" Merlin nodded and stepped forward in front of Arthur. "Stop" He breathed deeply, "I will not allow you to touch Arthur" His eyes flashed gold in warning.

"Oh my god, he has magic" Avragaine mumbled.

Merlin took in a deep breath, and let himself yell "Ωδρακον, έάω μαλερός σοφόνους φθέγγομαι τείδε άναδικέω!"

"Merlin!" Arthur chuckled, and in no time he heard wings flapping in a distance, it was Kilgharrah. Gaius and Avragaine backed away in fear as he landed behind both Merlin and Arthur. "Merlin, hop on my back" Kilgharrah spoke.

Merlin then looked at his mentor, "Sorry Gaius" And he took Arthur's hand to take him up to his back, when they made themselves comfortable they motioned Kilgharrah to fly. "Let's go back to your home Kilgharrah, we need to get away from here" Merlin said, "At least, until we wake up"

"No worries young warlock" And Kilgharrah flew away from Camelot.

Behind Merlin, Arthur held onto Merlin's waist tightly as to try and not fall off. "Hold on Arthur" Merlin said as they flew into the sky, they easily got cold when the wind passed them, but it didn't take long for Kilgharrah to arrive to his own cave in the mountains. As they landed, Kilgharrah lowered his wing for Merlin and Arthur to get off his back and onto solid ground.

"Young warlock…." Kilgharrah spoke, and Arthur and Merlin braced themselves for him to speak, whether he would be angry or wanting an explanation.

"Or not so young indeed" He said, "I suspect that you come much father from the future"

With relief, Arthur and Merlin looked at each other and back at Kilgharrah. "Yes, we are"

"Your minds are much older than your own bodies, plus, you two have too much of each other's scent. You are not the Arthur and Merlin I know"

"We know, and we accepted that long ago" Arthur said, "Other than that, thank you for saving us"

"The customs here in the present are much different to your own in the future I would presume, please be more careful" He advised them and they nodded their heads. "Now, make yourselves comfortable, I am afraid that I do not have any blankets for your own personal needs"

"That is alright, we have each other. We are very blessed to have been saved rather than having Merlin being burnt at the stake, so we will enjoy our stay"

"My pleasure young prince"

And they all went inside, immediately, when Kilgharrah chose to lie down, and Merlin and Arthur lied right next to his enormous stomach.

"We'd better wake up soon enough" Arthur said, "Yeah, I will try and contact someone on the outside. Just….close your eyes and go to sleep"

Arthur nodded and they both nodded off to sleep. _"Mordred….Mordred….wake both of us up"_

He waited for a response, _"Mordred!"_

And his eyes shot open with Mordred hovering over him, he had woken him up. "Merlin, are you alright?" Mordred asked.

"Yeah" And Merlin moved to Arthur and started to shake him awake, and Arthur's eyes shot open. "Merlin" He whispered, "It worked" He said.

"What did?" Mordred asked, "Well, when I'm pregnant, my magic goes haywire a bit sometimes and we had a dream of going into the past"

"Wow, so that explains much of why you were sleep for so long…" Mordred said but went quiet. "What?" Arthur asked, and then he frowned, "Hold on….." He lifted the sheets and his eyes went wide, "Never have I ever…..wet the bed"

"What?" Merlin chuckled and took a look, "Ohhhh no! Our session actually affected your body, I am so sorry!" He broke up into laughter, Arthur glared at him. "Let me get you a washcloth Arthur, oh you poor arse…" He went into the bathroom and came back with a wet cloth, "Out you get" He said and Arthur crawled out of bed to wipe him down, he sniggered the entire time.

"Done, now let's get some clothes on us, the court will be waiting for your word"

They quickly got dressed, ate breakfast and went to the courtroom where everyone was waiting for them both. "How is everything going?" Arthur asked, the court looked pretty happy so he assumed that he is going to get a positive answer. "My lord, there has been no action of the armies that Morgana had made, Camelot is safe for its citizens to return"

"Then pass my word that they can come back to their homes now. Morgana will never come back, therefore we don't need to be aware of any of our past enemies. But that doesn't mean that we should lower our security, thank you. Please proceed to do your jobs, as you have done a wonderful progress"

"Our pleasure your majesty"

They both bowed and left the court, Merlin now has to go to Gaius's chambers for his daily check. They wandered through Camelot, as it was completely empty which was a new sight for them but they got to Gaius's chambers without any problems and opened the door to find Gaius sorting his medicines.

"Good morning Gaius" Arthur greeted. "Ah, Arthur, Merlin, I trust you are here for an appointment" He noticed the two, "Please sit down" He said.

Arthur and Merlin happily sat down on a nearby chair and waited for Gaius to finish his task before tending to them. Once he was done, he went and sat down in front of them, "Ah, now. How are you two going? This is the fifth week isn't it Merlin?"

"That's right, we have been counting the days. I feel alright, though I had morning sickness about five in the morning and had a dream of going into the past"

"He pulled me into it" Arthur added. "So soon? Your magic started going odd when you were a month ahead" Gaius looked concerned, "Isn't that a bit fast?"

"Yes, is that something to be worried about?" Merlin asked.

"Hm… Merlin, how much magic did you use yesterday?" He asked, curious. "Well, I borrowed a large amount so I didn't have to put our baby in danger"

Gaius thought for a moment, "My suspicion seems to be that the rest of your borrowed magic that you have not used was given to your child for growth. If that is so, you may have grown almost a month further than expected"

"So….our baby may be more than a month old already?"

Gaius nodded, "Geez. I didn't expect that to happen" Merlin frowned, "Will that harm him in any way?" Arthur asked, "It should not, Merlin is magic itself, he may freely borrow as much as he needs to grow a child, even speed up the process. I am not surprised if he could, let me see your stomach"

Merlin lifted up his shirt and let Gaius look at him, putting his hands on Merlin's stomach and examining it. "There is a small obvious lump Merlin, you should still be flat"

"So we are one month ahead then" Merlin said, surprised. "We have eight months left"


	13. Chapter 13 - Calming down

At Hogwarts….

After Maree left her parents she went to her first class, even if Mordred isn't coming along, she was still excited about attending her classes and making some new friends. Her first class was potion making which she felt interested about since Gaius is into that sort of subject and she read his books since she was very small so it would be easy.

Arriving at the class door, it seemed to be closed and people started lining up so she did the same. When she lined up, she was met with student's eyes turning to her in surprise.

"Hey, are you….are you King Arthur's daughter Maree?" One boy asked. The others followed. "Yes, yes I am. I am Maree Emrys Pendragon, it's nice to meet you" She said, curtseying a little while holding her books in her arms.

"Elliot Watson, it is a pleasure to have you princess" The boy bowed to her and the rest of the class did the same, "So, can you do wandless magic as easily like Merlin can? He is your other parent right?" One girl asked.

"Yes, I can do magic as good as he can. I am a warlock as well, but I am not as strong as him…" Maree blushed, "I can't ever be, the more he grows, the stronger he gets and he is over centuries old and I am just measly ten years of age"

"I see!"

Someone clenched their throat and everyone spun around to see their teacher, and they all went into a straight line and remained silent. Their teacher had glasses and looked quite young as if he had finished studying at a university, he must be new but then she recognised him. He is one of Gaius's mentors, he taught him potion making. It's no surprise that he ended up as a teacher.

"Welcome to your first class, come in quietly and seat yourselves at a desk anywhere you feel comfortable" He opened the door and went in, the class followed after and seated themselves into the seats. Maree decided to sit next to Elliot since he seemed to be friendly.

"Welcome to potions class, now let me check the roll…" The teacher opened up a book and started going through the classes names. As he went through he eventually reached Maree's name.

"Lilly Oliphant"

"Here" Lilly replied in the background of the class.

"Maree Pendragon" The teacher smiled, "Goodness, _the_ Maree Pendragon?" He said, surprised.

Maree chuckled, "Why is everyone acting like I am Harry Potter?" and everyone laughed. "You are of royalty princess Maree, I have seen you around the Court Physicians chambers in Camelot since you were very small. I will expect great things from you." Then he turned to the class, "All of you"

Then he proceeded to ticking everyone else's names.

"Now" He put the roll book down, "Let me introduce myself, I am Professor Porter. I am your potions teacher, now the headmaster wants me to introduce you to toxins that you will have to be aware about as it will apply to your Herbology classes in the future. Now, what is an example of a very strong poison class?"

Maree put her hand up. "Yes princess?" Porter asked, "Aconite Professor"

"Wonderful! That is a fine example-"

Maree found her first class very interesting, she even made a possible friend with Elliot who seemed to be a student that is just as interested to learn as herself. So they decided to go off to class together upon his request because it "May be quite unsafe to go by herself" so she went along with it.

"So do you have a Mother and Father?" She asked as they walked along to their next class. "Well….no, unfortunately I don't have any parents. They were killed in a fire since I was young, so when I wanted to get into this school, my admission was passed down to your Father because I couldn't pay for anything and thankfully, he paid for everything and let me into this school. He is a very nice man, a very good King"

"I will thank him for you" Maree smiled, "So when you finish school, what will you do?"

"I am very interested in magic animals, like the dragon that was given to Merlin. I would like to look after them so maybe in the future I could take care of them around the Kingdom"

"That sounds like a fantastic idea!"

Then, quite suddenly a loud ring started going up. They both jumped and wondered what was going on, then the headmaster came up to them. "Princess Maree, you need to come with me!" He said, looking worried and rushed.

"What about Elliot? He can come with me?"

He huffed, "Sure, come along quickly" And they followed him along. As they walked through the halls of the school, teachers were hurrying students along and that made them both nervous. The whole school was in panic and all were hectic.

"What is going on Maree?" Elliot asked, "No idea"

Eventually the headmaster got them down into the dungeons and started to open a very huge and heavy door, he struggled to get it open so Maree and Elliot helped to get it open and it worked. Once they got inside, they helped close the door and the headmaster locked it up.

"Headmaster, can you please tell me what is going on?" Maree asked and he huffed from the exhaustion from pushing the door. "The King has set off an alarm for everyone to get out of their homes as danger is coming"

"But?"

"But Hogwarts is filled with magic, it will keep us safe here. So the entire school is in lockdown"

"But why?" Elliot asked. "He says that Morgana has come back as a spirit and is attempting to attack with several armies princess. Including the school, so you are to stay here until it is safe to get out"

Maree and Elliot's mouth dropped, "So, if Morgana is coming here as we feared….then do we have our dragon protected? She used a dragon's breath to create a strong sword to kill the immortal, if she puts her hands on him…."

"Not to worry, the police have already come down to look after him, he is already kept safe in one of these dungeon rooms"

"Good, that is the least of my worries. What about everyone else?"

"They are taking the main dungeons, they are as secure as our own here. Now, you must stay here, I have to go out and get someone. Do not let anyone else in"

They both nodded and the headmaster went out the door with a bit of help.

"Gosh, this is serious. Morgana, the actual witch is trying to attack Camelot again? As a spirit? How is that possible?"

"Well, sometimes when someone dies with an unaccomplished goal, their spirit is left behind. And I have a natural ability to see them, and unfortunately not so long ago Morgana showed up on Camelot so my parents have been aware of her since" Maree explained.

"I see. That is a useful ability you have! So how do normal see ghosts?"

"They have a visual form, spirits are naturally invisible to everyone"

"Ah, I see"

"One of the ghosts that appear in the great hall are my Grandmother and Grandfather, Ygraine and Uther Pendragon"

"No kidding!" Elliot gasped. "And the Sorting hat used to be the great dragon Kilgharrah" Maree added, "OH yeah! That's right!"

Then the door opened again, with some effort, Maree and Elliot helped open it. And a boy from around their age came in with the headmaster. The boy noticed Maree instantly.

"Ah, Princess Maree! My lady! It is wonderful to see you again" He said, which made Maree blush slightly and tried to ignore it by trying to push the door to close it. "Princess, let me do that. Such effort will spoil your beauty"

Elliot, bewildered by his words, watched as the boy pushed the door closed.

"Who is that?" Elliot whispered into Maree's ear. "That's George, Prince William's son" She whispered back, "He's a little…."

"Yeah, I can already see the obvious"

"Prince George was nearby and was sent here immediately, I thought that he would value as good company" The headmaster said. "While I go back to maintain the school, you can all stay here together. Keep warm and food will be delivered by the maids daily"

Prince George was sparkling all over as he wore his trusty suit, and he had the marks of a perfect prince with a wide smile with white teeth. Elliot's mouth dropped a little at the sight of him.

"Well, keep safe you three, if you need anything, there are guards out the door" The headmaster said and he went out.

Once Elliot and George closed the door, George turned around and looked at the room. "The dungeons are kind of dark and cold aren't they princess?"

"Er- yes, but at least it gives us what we need while we stay safe. Want to er….light some candles?" She asked. "Oh, do we have any Princess?" George asked.

"I am sure we can find some…" Elliot said, starting his search right away.

Maree directed her eyes to the fireplace, "Forbarenan" She said and a fire set alright. "Beautiful Maree"

"I don't have to do any effort to do that don't I George?" She said, "Indeed, you don't"

"So George, you don't process any magic?" Elliot asked, "No, I am a muggle" George replied. "Are you Maree's classmate?"

"He's my friend, Elliot" Maree said and Elliot brightened with a smile. "Nice to meet you Elliot" George smiled, and shook his hand. "You are a Slytherin?" He asked, "Yes"

"I am a Gryffindor George" Maree said before he could ask. "How wonderful, no harm but aren't Slytherin pupils bad witches?"

"You don't judge a person on their house George" Maree said. "Yes, right" George said as Elliot found the candles and started lighting them up with his wand. Maree took her coat off and put it down on a couch, revealing her red neckerchief tied around her neck.

"Golly, that really shows that you're Merlin's daughter!" Elliot exclaimed when he saw it, "Yeah, this was my Fathers when he was my age, he gave it to me on my birthday. It makes me feel safe and happy whenever I wear it" Maree smiled. "As if Merlin, my Dad is with me"

"I wish I had a Father" Elliot grumbled. "Well, you have us. It doesn't matter if you're not blood related" Maree smiled, "Maybe on the holidays I can ask Father to have you over, he would be pleased! Besides, I am getting a little brother soon"

"That is right, Merlin is pregnant isn't he?" George asked. "Using magic to become pregnant is simply amazing!" Elliot said. "You are very kind, but are you sure that he wouldn't mind?"

"Of course he wouldn't mind! I'd love to show you around the Kingdom"

Then all of a sudden, something broke their conversation, something was coming down the chimney at an alarming speed. Immediately Maree extinguished the fire before it would come out, soot exploded out of the fireplace and it went everywhere.

They all coughed from the soot and as it cleared down, they saw a pitch black little owl sitting on the ground looking quite shell shocked as he held a little letter tied to his foot.

"Poor little fellow, he's all dirty!" Elliot exclaimed at the sight of the bird, "Yes, and so am I" George complained. "Oh, you can get your clothes cleaned, get over it. This guy is covered" Elliot picked up the owl with his two hand, "You poor fella"

"Is that a letter attached to him?" Maree asked and approached the owl, and took the letter off his leg and untied the string that tied the letter onto his leg. She opened it up, "Ah, it's from Arthur!"

She read along as Elliot and George joined in to read:

"Dear Maree, you may have heard that Morgana has planned to attack, under any circumstances, do not go out of the school until the headmaster tells you so. Merlin and I are fine, so is Mordred. Sit back tight and keep safe, we will find a way to stop her. Keep the owl with you, it is too risky to send her back to me. We will see you soon after it is over. Love, Father"

"He has very good writing your Father, doesn't he?" Elliot commented. "Well, at least he is safe"

"Now, let's get you clean" Elliot held the owl in his hands and plugged the sink up so he could fill it, and let the owl jump in the sink and ruffle his feathers in the water as Maree cleaned up the soot from the ground and off George's clothes with magic.

"Thank you so much, magic is so useful!" George said, thanking her. "Oh, it's nothing" She replied. "Why don't you take your blazer off and relax on the couch?"

"How thoughtful of you princess" George took his blazer off and made himself comfortable on the couch.

After a while the little owl started to preen himself dry, and everything started to get a bit boring. Maree got so bored that she decided to sing a few songs.

" _Consider yourself, at home, consider yourself, part of the family, I'm talking to you, so strong, it's clear, we're, going to get along"_

"What song is that?" George asked, "It's a song from Oliver, a very old but famous movie, it was sung by Jack Wild"

"That sounds like a really nice song, do you know any others? Catchy ones?"

"Hmm…."

She opened her mouth again to sing:

" _The subject for today is pronouns,_

 _So what'ya say we have a couple o' go-rounds_

 _"I" is a lonely word_ _  
_ _"You" is a happy word_ _  
_ _"We" is a friendly word I much prefer_ _  
_ _"He" is a simple word_ _  
_ _"She" is a tender word_ _  
_ _"They" is the mating of the him and her_

 _"It" is a word that can mean anything_ _  
_ _It can be either large or small_

 _"Mine" is a selfish word_ _  
_ _"Yours" is a thoughtful word_ _  
_ _But "ours" is the nicest word of all_

 _"It" is a word that can mean anything_ _  
_ _It can be either large or small_

 _"Mine" is a selfish word_ _  
_ _"Yours" is a thoughtful word_ _  
_ _But "ours" is the nicest word of...all!"_

"What is this? A school lesson?" Elliot's face scrunched up in surprise, "But it is very catchy" George added. "Do you know some other songs that are catchy like that?"

Maree sang a couple of songs until she started singing in Japanese, then switched to Latin.

"Just how many languages do you know?" Elliot asked, "Two more, Brittonic and sign language"

"Handy"

She continued on until she ran out of songs, shortly after that, lunch came, following with dinner after. They got tired rather tired but Maree had a growing anxiety of what might be happening. So she went to sleep on the bottom of one of the bunk beds.

"Is it over yet….?" Elliot asked once he awoke, Maree was wide awake from waking up an hour earlier. "I don't know" She said.

"Really…."

Then they heard the main door open, and they all rushed out of bed to see the headmaster coming in. "Is it over?" They all shouted in unison. With some relief, the headmaster nodded, "It is over, Merlin and Arthur put an end to it before it could get worse"

"Bless our King and sorcerer!" Elliot gasped.

Students scattered around the great hall to see Merlin and Arthur in the afternoon when they arrived, they happened to be worried about all of them as much as Maree was. Mordred looked quite relieved too.

"Dad, Papa!" Maree came over and leaped into Arthur's arms, "You are both okay!"

"You should thank Mordred Maree, he fainted doing most of the hard work in place for your Dad" Arthur said, and slowly, Maree turned her head to Mordred. "Really?"

"Yes, go and give him a hug as well. We decided that he will be staying with you from now on, he packed straight away after we told him"

Maree looked at her Father and rushed over to Mordred, "Mordred!" She squealed, and he opened his arms immediately when he saw her and let her jump into his arms. 'Heeey, how are you?" He said, looking quite peppy and cheerful.

Merlin smiled at them, "Hey look Arthur, they look so happy don't they?" He said as he watched them, Mordred had hauled Maree up and got her to sit on Mordred's shoulders.

"Ohhh, you're getting heavy…" Mordred groaned.

"Yes, yes you're right" Arthur smiled, turning his head to smile at the students.

"So where do you sleep Maree?" Mordred asked, "I do not know yet, but we will get our rooms any minute. Shall we grab your things and follow the teachers?"

"Sure, let's do that. But there is something that I must do first"

As all of the students were getting sorted by the teachers, Mordred went over to Merlin and Arthur. They all smiled at each other, Merlin looked like he knew what Mordred was about to do, but then Mordred surprised him by giving him a big hug.

"Oh!" Merlin gasped softly, and laughed before putting his arms around him to pull him into a soft hug. "Thank you Merlin, for giving me a second chance" Mordred said, and then he hugged Arthur too, "Thank you"

Arthur gave him a pat on the back, "It is our pleasure, and I am sure we will see each other when Maree has her school holidays"

"We will" Merlin added. "Alright, we will" Mordred smiled, "Until then, see you and take care"

"See you Mordred"

"Goodbye Mordred"

"See you" Mordred then picks up his suitcases and follows Maree. As they watched them on, Merlin started to tear up.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked.

"It's just…our little girl is growing up. I have seen Mothers have the same emotion when they see them go but….I finally see it, she's going to school" Merlin sniffed, "Our daughter is growing up" He said, wiping his tears as he watched her fade away into one of the halls with Mordred and the other students.

"Oh Merlin, you are right" Arthur smiled, "I see it too. She's our baby, it's a normal feeling"

"It's a beautiful feeling"

For a while they stood there, until Arthur grabbed Merlin's hand and took themselves home. When they arrived the whole Kingdom had already been swarmed by its citizens and people cheered for their King and sorcerer so it took them an hour to get inside the castle. And, as Arthur suspected, Merlin immediately got out their photo album to look through all of their photos of when Maree was born. Sitting on the bed, Merlin smiled at the photos. Then he pulled out another album which shows like thousands of photos of Arthur and himself during their early dating days and their ten years of being together. Pictures of themselves holding each other, kisses to the forehead, lips, even Arthur's secretive photos when Merlin just looked simply beautiful. And smiles, such beautiful smiles and happiness.

Then Arthur came to sit on the bed next to him and immediately smiled at the photos, "Aw, aren't these cute? Maree was so cute as a baby, you were so utterly protective of her, you watched her like a hawk" He pointed at some of the photos of Merlin pouting as he held his baby girl.

Merlin chuckled, "I did"

Then Arthur turned to the photos of Merlin rubbing his huge belly in bed when he was nine months pregnant. "Most of these are sneaky, I never know when or how you take these" Merlin said.

"Well, I took them because they are beautiful" Arthurs fingers brushed against his hair as Merlin looked at him with glittering eyes, "I'm beautiful?"

"Yes"

"Well, you're the handsome one, I should take more pictures of you" Merlin said, flattering Arthur. His eyebrows rose, " _Mer_ lin"

"You look good in gold, it matches you"

Arthur smiled, "You look good in Camelot red yourself"

Their new bodyguard, which happens to be one of Merlin's fully trained students that wanted to take the position stood not so far away from them. Arthur agreed to it as long as he participates in Lancelot's lessons with the knights to learn how to fight. He smiled at the new sight in front of his eyes, he had seen them prattle a lot and work together in public, but he had never seen their coupling in their own chambers. He smiled at the two flirting at each other.

Not long after a maid was sent to get three meals, two for Merlin of course. Arthur got out three goblets and poured in some water in each then motioned for their new bodyguard to come over.

He did so. "May I ask for your name?" Arthur asked, "It's Jordan, sire"

"Jordan" Arthur handed him a goblet, "Welcome to your first day on the job and I am sure that we all will get along"

"It is an absolute pleasure your majesty" Jordan beamed with a smile, and they all clinked their goblets together before drinking from them. Then Arthur and Merlin began to eat.

Jordan stared the goblet in hand and looked at the detail of it, then he started to wonder. "Sire?"

"Yes?" Arthur turned his head to him, "How old is this goblet?" he asked, and then Arthur grinned, "This belonged to my Father"

Jordan gaped, "Sire, I am your bodyguard"

"It doesn't mean that you're not an equal. Mordred has drunk from the same goblet himself on the day he was knighted, it is a symbol of trust in a new friendship"

Jordan smiled, "You are very kind sire"

Jordan then drunk the rest of the water slowly, as if appreciating what Arthur had given him like the rest of the kingdom. Peace and prosperity, and he accepted it with great thanks because there is no one like Arthur, no one at all, so he appreciated every single drop.

After lunch Merlin and Arthur started planning their honeymoon, someplace quiet and where they can do things by themselves in peace. They booked a place for two weeks due before going on a holiday around the world. They both got excited from just thinking about it.

And finally, the whole Kingdom started to brace themselves for Merlin and Arthur's marriage. People completely forgot about the evacuation, and started celebrating as soon as the marriage was announced. Colours of red and gold were everywhere around the Kingdom which made everyone smile, they were colours of peace.

" _I have never seen such a better kingdom in my whole life" Elizabeth said in the dining hall._

Merlin looked out the window from their chambers to gaze down at all of the celebrations that are blazing through the week before the marriage, Merlin smiled at them all.

"Are you ready to become a Pendragon Merlin?" Arthur asked as he joined him, Merlin looked up and smiled, "I am ready to become your husband" And kissed him.

At that time an owl flew up to the window holding a letter on his leg, "Hello Gilly" He said, and took the letter off her leg. "Maree is coming up to the castle tomorrow for the duration of the marriage celebrations, the ceremony….." Merlin read, "She requests for a friend to come with her too"

"Who?" Arthur asked, "His name is Elliot"

"Elliot who?" Arthur asked, Merlin shook his head, "No idea, she notes that he is an orphan"

"Ohhhh" Arthur remembers, "I know who he is, I looked at his papers long ago so he could be accepted into the school, the poor boy has literally nothing"

"What happened to his parents?" Merlin asked, "His parents died in a fire when he was an infant, according to his papers he lived in an orphanage all his life"

Merlin frowned, "How sad" He then took the letter with him and grabbed a pen from Arthur's desk and started writing a reply on the back, once he had finished, he tied it up to Gilly's foot and let her fly away.

"Owls are very clever aren't they?" Arthur said, "To be able to know where to go"

"Yes, remember when we used to use crows? Owls are amongst those guys that can bring letters to certain people"

"So I've learned"

Arthur took another glance outside. "Hm….Merlin, why don't we go and visit our citizens and join the celebrations?"

Merlin didn't seem to dislike the idea, "Why not? Let's go"


	14. Chapter 14 - Calming down Part 2

"Wow, the celebrations are very energetic!" Merlin gasped as they both walked into the lower towns, music blared sweetly around the town and the atmosphere was brightened by it. Immediately the crows welcomed the King and future consort, they bowed first and then when they felt comfortable to approach them, they offered Arthur some ale and Merlin some butterbeer.

"Thank you" Arthur received the jug of ale and shook the man's hand. Then they went to sit down to watch the people cheer and dance in the middle of the street, men, women, children, and teens. They were all people that were on the list applying for a home, when Camelot became available to the public, it housed everyone, even the poor and homeless. And those people became very loyal to Camelot and worked well in their paid jobs.

It was staring to get dark and lights lit up the night sky, and Arthur and Merlin were eager to join the dances that the people enjoyed their selves with.

"King Arthur, your majesty, could you have the pleasure of showing us how you all danced in your young days?" A woman asked, and Arthur smirked. "It will be our pleasure to show you" Taking Merlin's hand, Merlin smiled at him and supressed a blush. "Merlin?"

"I'd love to dance with you" Merlin said, feeling his heart thump out of his chest before Arthur kissed his hand, and lead him in the middle of the street of where the people were dancing. Merlin and Arthur never did this in public before, especially showing their love to thousands of people. Merlin's face was now red as a glowing light.

After a silence, Arthur raised his voice, "You're such a girl Merlin" and at that everyone laughed, "Yes yes, at this point I am in fact a girl since I am pregnant" Merlin rolled his eyes at him.

Arthur chuckled, "That's true"

Then with one step, they started dancing and everyone else immediately joined in to watch and hopefully match their moves.

"Arthur" Merlin said between steps as they danced, "Yes?"

"If I ever dream again and I pull you into it….I think it's better to play our roles just as we did in the past. Otherwise the dreams may become real and they might overwrite the past"

"I understand" Arthur nodded, "But….what if I wake up and I am married to Gwenivere?"

Merlin paled at this, "Then we better hope that doesn't happen, we are happy right now and there is not much chance that we will have a dream like that"

"Of course. But if it ever happens, we will take a hunting day, away from Camelot"

"Right away" Merlin nodded at the idea.

"Elliot! Merlin wrote back!" Maree called out to him from the Gryffindor common room after she received the letter from Mordred. "Did you? What does it say?!" Elliot ran over to her.

They read the letter together, "Merlin says that you can come! Isn't that brilliant?! And the celebrations have already started! We can grab our homework and start packing to go tomorrow"

"You better get ready right away, you leave early in the morning" Mordred informed them. And Maree and Elliot scattered to their own dormitories excitedly to pack their things. "They're quick" And Mordred went up to the girls dormitories to see Maree packing her things with the letter on her bed, once he stepped in the room some girls jumped a bit. "No need to worry, I am her bodyguard so calm yourselves"

The girls calmed down a bit, then one spoke, "Maree, why are you packing?"

"I am packing to go back to Camelot tomorrow for the celebrations and my parents' marriage"

"Oh that! Everyone is coming this weekend! We better get packing too soon, we cannot miss that!"

"Too right" Another girl spoke as Maree finished packing her things, "Got everything Maree?" Mordred asked and Maree nodded, double checking her own space and nothing remained but her pyjamas on her bed pillow.

"Remember your pyjama's for tomorrow alright?" Mordred said, making sure that Maree remembers. Maree nodded, "Yes Mordred"

"Good, your parents will be delighted to see you tomorrow" Mordred smiled, "Shall we go to the great hall to have dinner? You all have had a very long day"

"I agree, let's go and have dinner to refill our bellies"

Mordred and Maree walked out of the dormitories, and headed to the great hall for dinner. Maree found that the maids cooked the meals, because there are no house elves to do the job. The only creature that Maree knows alive is the goblin sealed away in the back of the library, away from unwanted attention, Merlin had once warned her of the Goblin once as to not touch it no matter how much the scientists begged in examining it. But she was happy because these maids wanted to work at the school, she would feel bad if there were house elves forced to do the work, not that Arthur would let that happen.

When she arrived a great deal of candles were floating in the room, people were gazing at them as if it never happened before. People were thanking both Mordred and Maree which responded with confused looks.

"Hello Maree! I see that you have packed!" Elliot appeared in their presence. "You have all your things done too?" Maree asked and Elliot nodded, "I see that you have the candles floating, the candles never float!"

"Us? We're doing that on purpose…..?" Maree frowned, "You don't know?" Elliot said, surprised, "When it comes to the great hall, the candles only float if there is a powerful source of magic within an individual, especially for wandless magic users such as yourself and Mordred"

"So when we enter the room…." Mordred said.

"There is an ancient individual or….one of Merlins spouse is somewhere in the room! Even, the candles turn green when Merlin enters, red when Arthur comes in, they were built that way"

"That's amazing…" Maree said.

Students started to crowd the room and sit down at their house tables, Maree thought to do the same and sat next to Elliot with Mordred next to him. The next thing is that the headmaster came in and stood by the top of the main steps, everyone went silent.

"We all apologise for the inconvenience from today's events, as you all may heard our Sorcerer Merlin and King Arthur have stopped a war from coming upon our lands"

Everyone broke into a cheerful applause.

"Now let us not let the events take over our peace and harmony, King Arthur and Merlin are to be engaged this weekend and they have invited all of us along this weekend to Camelot"

Everyone sent out loud cheers and rounds of applause, as everyone was excited to go along. And went quiet at the headmasters command, "We leave the day after tomorrow in time for the wedding ceremony and we all expect that you all pack your things in time for the train to take everyone straight to Camelot"

"Now that we have concluded all of the announcements for tonight, let us all feast!"

The tables were immediately filled with food, and politely as she was taught in the past, Maree gathered some meat, vegetables and milk and started eating nicely. Mordred on Elliot's side preferred salad and vegetables rather than meat, he got some tofu and mixed that in with his salad.

"Ew, Mordred, you seriously don't eat tofu do you?" Elliot said, his eyes widening with disgust at Mordred mixing the tofu in his salad.

"Yes, I like it like that, it's like meat for vegetarians" Mordred said.

"Merlin is a half vegetarian, he never liked going hunting with Arthur in the past, he feels for the animals but he says that you also need your meat to keep up your irons. On the other hand, Arthur is a carnivore, his favourite food is crusted capon, Merlin tells him off for being fat if he eats too much"

Mordred sniggered to himself. "There was one time" Maree recollected, "When Merlin caught Arthur helping himself to a whole turkey once. Arthur looked his best to look completely innocent, but there was some gravy on his lip that he missed and his mouth stunk so Merlin confronted him and got it out of his guilty mouth of his"

"What happened after that?" Elliot asked, curious. "Well…." Maree smirked, "He scolded him really bad and Arthur was looking like a guilty puppy, you should have seen his face, it was so miserable! Such a sook, his eyes were big and teary, but they didn't fade Merlin"

Elliot laughed, "I've never heard of the King like that before!" His stomach full of giggles, he didn't know is he would be able to swallow down the food in his mouth so Mordred patted his back so he could swallow. "Careful" Mordred warned.

"Thank you" Elliot coughed and cleared his throat.

"I didn't know you could dance Merlin" Arthur commented, impressed with his moves earlier. "Well, I have _many_ talents" Merlin said and Arthur laughed, "Oh Merlin, really now"

Merlin smiled at him and decided to lay his head on Arthurs shoulder as they watched the citizens dance the night away. Their fingers caressed each other, shoulders and legs touching.

"The people are incredibly nice and polite…" Merlin said, "Yes, they are, they are the ones that make Camelot so peaceful and such a wonderful place to live"

Merlin hummed, "I can't wait to get everything ready tomorrow, were finally going to get married the day after, I never want it to end"

"Then we will have to get someone to film the whole thing, so we can play it over and over again" Arthur kisses his forehead, "It's taken us over one thousand and five hundred years for it to happen. Neither do I want it to end"

There was a moment of silence while Merlin thought for a while, "Arthur?"

"Yes?"

"What have Gwen and you done with your wedding rings?"

There was another silence before Arthur spoke, "Gwen gave the engagement ring to the museum, so did I. And we threw our wedding rings in the lake"

"Oh Arthur, you care for your relationship with her, that's so nice. Though you didn't really have to throw the rings in the lake…"

"Our marriage ended with that bloody lake anyway, it holds our first life, though….not our second" Arthur put's his nose in Merlin's hair. "You're right" Merlin lifted his head, "You completed what you were needed for, but instead of being put to sleep by the lake, you're bonded to me and you're here to stay. Because I need you, the kingdom needs you, your daughter and son needs you" He rubs his cheek against Arthurs own. "Yeah, screw that damn lake Merlin, it's not stopping us this time"

Merlin chuckled, "We're staying together forever, then we will spend our lives for one thousand and five hundred years, then a million more"

"Much much longer than that" Arthur smiled, stroking Merlins hair and then kissing him. They gave each other happy kisses, and slowly over time as they kissed the music in the air started to fade and they stopped to wonder what's wrong and found everyone staring at them.

"What?" Arthur said innocently, looking up at the crowd. "Oh Arthur, they just never seen their King smooching their sorcerer before" Merlin chuckled at them and they all chuckled back. "Would you like us to get our own private space or do you want us to keep going?" Merlin asked.

"Don't mind us sire, feel comfortable to keep going. There are many more couples out in this area than you think"

"I think we better stop, because my mouth obviously tastes like beer and I don't want to give that to our child" Arthur suggested, "Why don't we dance some more?" He said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Merlin smirked and then thought for a while, "I have a better idea, come with me Arthur" Merlin grabbed Arthurs hand and dragged him along to the centre of the dance floor of where everyone was dancing and had their attention at, everyone turned their eyes to Merlin and Arthur. Arthur looked at Merlin in a confused way but he felt safe in his hands, as Merlin smiled and then, after a while, Merlin looked into Arthur's eyes and his eyes shone gold. The world was suddenly struck with a gush of wind, his eyes shut closed before he felt a wonderful pleasure fill his body. When he opened his eyes, he gasped, the world was filled with gold.

"Merlin!" Arthur held onto Merlin's arms as he laughed, then he turned around to see the citizens around them with their faces full of surprise, and then of happiness. Arthur looked around again, the world was completely gold, and then in the sky he could see spirits of millions of people and animals of many different shapes and sizes. He saw his Father, smiling down at him, his grandfather standing next to Uther who he remembers very little of. Then he noticed that the world had stopped, Merlin had stopped time for a moment, he looked back at Merlin, his eyes filled with gold but then he looked closer, the world was filled in his eyes.

"Merlin….." He gasped as he felt his heart fill with light, every burden that was there was suddenly gone and he let himself be captured in this very moment. As he grasped Merlin's hand so he wouldn't be pulled out of the magic that captured everyone, and then looked at the sky again. Eyeing every spirit that passed them, he saw one approach him, and he gasped- it was Morgana.

She looked as young as he remembered her, she wore her dresses that she had worn in Camelot before her betrayal, for a moment, he thought that she had been put to peace. Morgana smiled at Arthur sweetly with tears in her eyes. He looked at Merlin who was also staring at her and then back at Morgana. "Morgana?" His voice shaken with surprise.

"Thank you Arthur, for freeing me"

"What?" Arthur's voice croaked.

Merlin was just as stunned, "Morgana…did Morgause do something to you?"

Morgana frowned, "Please forgive me"

Anger filled Merlin's eyes, "She didn't"

"She used magic to corrupt my very soul Merlin, she was cruel, and I was scared. So….very scared…" Morgana said, her voice shaking. "You didn't know anything and it was not your fault, it was all hers, so please do not blame yourselves"

"Morgana…..you do not deserve such a life….in fear…."

She smiled, "You set me free Merlin, and I am very happy here. I shall live the rest of my life in the spirit world protecting your children, so they do not have to live in fear like I have"

"But…"

Arthur stopped Merlin, when Merlin turned his head to look at Arthur, he was already crying. "Arthur….oh Arthur, please don't cry…" Merlin went to hug his King, his arms wrapped around his head and let him bury his face into Merlin's shoulder.

"Merlin, I know how generous you are but, let her live in peace, it's not like we aren't going to see her anymore"

Merlin smiled, "Maree will be able to care of her for us"

Morgana smiled upon them both, "Thank you….Merlin"

"Morgana…..may I ask…..how did this happen to you?" Merlin asked.

Morgana cleared her throat, "Morgause put me under a spell, I was corrupted by her own soul. So when I died, my spirit remained the same"

"So when we killed you again….what happened?"

"To be sure, I do not know. I had no sense of my consciousness until someone must have woken me up, someone capable of handling the spirit world itself, when I did, I was saved, freed"

Merlin's eyes widened, "I know who that is"

Arthur then looked at Merlin, "Our daughter, Maree"

"Did it work Mordred? Did the spell work?" Maree asked as she saw light in front of her eyes as Mordred watched, seated in front of her. They sat in Mordred's room that was right beside Maree's own.

"Well, what do you see now?" Mordred asked.

"I see…..I don't see a corrupted soul anymore, I see a bright gold light" She said, looking at Mordred, wondering if she did the spell right.

"Do you see a physical form yet?" Mordred asked again and Maree shook her head, "No, it must have-"

Then all of a sudden, they saw the whole room brighten up with gold. Their jaws gaped and they both grabbed onto their chairs as if they were going to float but let go when gravity did not change.

The light in front of Maree appeared to Mordred's eyes, then they saw it morph into a young woman. They recognised her right away, Morgana. She opened up her arms and then slowly opened her eyes, gasping, she looked around her to see her niece, and then Mordred.

"Aunt Morgana!" Maree gasped back at her and she ran to the spirit. "Are you alright? Did I do good?"

"Oh!" Morgana smiled and lightly took Maree's hands into her own, "You did wonderfully. You freed me from Morgause's spell"

"When Mordred told me what happened to you, you deserved just as much to be out of that horrid soul didn't you? If I were Merlin, he'd do the same, he's my Father and he saw right through you, I know he did, and Arthur too"

"Indeed he did, and I cannot express my thanks" Morgana's eyes were full of tears, "You have a very kind soul just like your parents"

Maree smiled, "You should be free now, and speak to Merlin, and Arthur, tell them you're okay, and that you're safe. Don't worry about me, I'm with Mordred, and he's my very best friend!"

Morgana nodded. "I will do just that, tell them I'm alright. Thank you my dear"

Gwenivere felt and saw the world turn gold too, as she halted, she saw her Father and Mother float upon her, completely lost for words.

After a few minutes, the gold subsided and disappeared.

She caught her breath, "What…..was that?"

Only one person could make that happen, and that is Merlin. She bolted from her current position and went outside to the very possible place where the gold may have come from.

"…Arthur?" Merlin asked, rubbing his back and then looking into his eyes, "Are you alright?" His eyes seem to be a little red, but he could feel his anger on the side.

"I am alright, there is no need to fret about the past events right?"

"Arthur, it's alright. It's only human to feel that way, I've learned that very long ago" Merlin hugged him again, "And don't worry, I am here"

"Thank you Merlin" Arthur managed a smile with his support, "You always are" He said and wiped his eyes, "On the other side, Morgana is free"

"We will have to have a little word with Maree tomorrow about what she has done, and how she did it. She has my magic, it is possible that our son will too, a new soul. We will have to teach him how to rightfully use his powers, for good and not for evil"

"You're right" Arthur pulled from his hug and turned his attention to Merlin's tiny bump, "This isn't like Maree, she grew up learning from different parents. This is for real, we have to do our roles as parents"

"So serious mister Pendragon, I know it's early, but this is good to think about. Why don't we ask Gwen someday about how she raised your first son?"

"That's a good idea, we can do that"

With the change of mood, Merlin smiled at Arthur before wiping the remaining tears off his face, "Feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you Merlin" He takes a deep breath and lets out a puff of air. "I'm good"

"Arthur! Merlin!" Gwen came running from afar, "Gwen?" Arthur squinted his eyes to try and figure out who is coming and took sight of Gwenivere rushing towards them.

"What just happened? The world just went completely gold…."

"Ah, that was me" Merlin said and turned to the people around them looking completely dazzled and amazed and they had just started to clap in applause for his magic.

"Did I scare you?" Merlin asked, "No, I was really surprised…..I wonder how many people saw all that gold.." Gwen wondered, "If you covered the world, then it'll be all over the news first thing in the morning"

Merlin's face scrunched, "Er…..I may have…"

"Oh _Merlin_ " Arthur sighed, "But Merlin, don't fret. It was beautiful….the gold I mean, I saw my Mother and Father. It felt like a blessing"

"What?"

Merlin smiled softly at her, "I'm glad"

Gwen smiled sweetly back at him, "Thank you"

The next day Arthur and Merlin received multiple newspapers about Merlin's magic being soared through the entire world, filling it with gold the night before, Arthur sat on the side of the bed and sighed heavily. "We're going to have scientists coming after us again"

"It felt right at the time" Merlin mumbled as he laid flat on his stomach with the sheets over his head. Arthur threw the newspapers aside and took the sheets off a half-naked Merlin. "Let's set our minds for that later, today we have to get ready for our wedding tomorrow"

Merlin felt a smile rise up to his face, "Yeah, have you found anyone to film the whole thing?"

"I hired someone yesterday, he should be here any minute. For now, you should get dressed" Arthur suggested, Merlin's grin rose more, ""You don't want me to get dressed"

Arthurs grin matched Merlin's own, "Indeed I don't" And as they smirked at each other, they drew themselves into a kiss when someone knocked on the door. Ignoring the sound, Arthur called out "Come in" As he continued kissing him, climbing on top of the bed and wrapping his arms around Merlin with Merlin's body lying deep into the mattress.

"Your majesty" A voice called out and immediately Merlin recognised that voice, he yelped and broke Arthur's kisses to see who was at the door. "Mike?!" He exclaimed when he saw his friend, he had not seen him since the tournament ten years ago. He was holding one of his best cameras that he remembered, and Arthur rose up to see him, "You know each other?" Arthur asked.

Mike smiled, "Yes, we were friends before you came back your majesty". One of Arthur's eyebrows rose, "Really?" And he looked back at Merlin, "Yeah, he looked after me when you were gone. Found me on the side of the lake crying once and he didn't leave me alone since"

"He was such a lone spirit, I regularly took photos of him sometimes. But I had no idea that he was the actual Merlin. I noticed that he was sad, but I never knew how bad it was when I noticed that he visited the lake once a week, maybe more and he did that as a routine for more than two years and he never stopped"

"Oh" Arthur breathed.

"But let's not worry about that, it is an honour to meet you your majesty. I read your book on the story of Camelot and your own stories, it is a fantastic read"

"Wonderful, I am glad you took your time to read it" Arthur's spirits rose with the good change of subject, "Oh, my children wanted me to read the whole story to them along with my wife"

"Aw" Merlin smiled. "Now, shall we start your day your majesty?" Mike grabbed his camera and lifted it up. "Yes, in fact, Merlin doesn't want to get out of bed" Arthur gives him a side glance and Merlin groaned.

"Come on Merlin, up you get. Or I'll have to drag you out instead" Arthur stood up and approached Merlin again. "Feel free to, I really need to get my butt outta' here. I want to get married"

Arthur sighed, "We cannot help the little energy you have when you're pregnant" Arthur grabs Merlin by the arms and hauls him up, "But in five months' time you're going to be begging me to get in that bed" He said, looking at Merlin in his arms who just rolled his eyes, "Blame the hormones Arthur, it wasn't my fault"

"What happened last time?" Mike asked as Merlin got change behind the screen, "Well, one morning when I woke up, the first thing that happened was that Merlin gave me a look. And then I knew it, I was like 'Oh no, he is really horny and he's going to complain all day, just what am I going to do with you?"

"Oh yeah, it's happened to me"

"I gave in at some point though, like, 'who can resist his whines and needs? He has the cutest eyes in the world!'"

Merlin poked his head out the screen, "You've never said that to me"

"Oh Merlin, I'm never going to admit it am I? I am having a hard time myself to accept it"

With a smug smile Merlin went back behind the screen. The next thing after he finished changing, Merlin was scoffing up his breakfast like a walrus. "Whoa whoa, slow down. We don't want you to have tummy ache" Arthur sat down at the table and started eating his own breakfast.

"I can't help it, I'm hungry" Merlin sips up some water and continues eating. Arthur watched Merlin stuff his mouth until eventually his cheeks look like one of a squirrels with nuts in his cheeks. Arthur sighed, "Oh Merlin, slow down" And surprisingly, Merlin chugged his food down like he was drinking out of a straw. "I am fine Arthur" He said, ignoring the surprise on Arthurs face.

"Goodness gracious" Mike said, surprised as Arthur was. "Slow down or you won't be fine later. You'll be whining about a sore stomach" Arthur ordered.

At that, Merlin listened to his fiancée and started eating a bit slower. "Good"

 _"_ _Damn instincts"_ Merlin thought and Arthur rose an eye, Merlin halted. _"You heard that didn't you?"._ Arthur nodded, "I am not surprised Merlin"

Mike rose an eye, "Surprised about what?" He asked, "Well, we speak to each other in our minds sometimes" Arthur explained. "Oh I see"

Merlin gave his cranberry juice a sip and drunk down the whole thing when he finished his breakfast. "I sense Maree nearby, she must be arriving soon".Arthur set his goblet down, "Then we must get down to the courtyard at once, come join me?"

Merlin takes the hand that Arthur offers, and they go out their chambers to the front courtyard. Merlin and Arthur paid no mind to the number of guards all over the place, at least that they weren't wearing the uniforms that the guards wore at Buckingham Palace. It would have been weird to have thousands of guards with those big funny hats on, when Arthur first saw one of Elizabeth's guards those hats sent weird chills through his skin and couldn't help but gape at them.

Watching the rising sun in the sky, it didn't take long for Maree to arrive. Followed by Mordred, she came straight out of the car to hug her parents. Then a nervous figure emerged out of the car, Mordred urged him on and he approached the King and Sorcerer.

"Elliot, this is my parents, Merlin and Arthur Pendragon. Father, Dad, this is my friend, Elliot"

Elliot looked up at the golden King and smiling sorcerer, "It is a pleasure to meet you Elliot" Arthur kneeled down and gave him a small handshake. Elliot only gaped, lost for words. "Your majesty, you are both stunning upon the light of the sun in person than on television"

Merlin let out a flattered chuckle, "Thank you Elliot"

Then Prince George came out of the car and Mordred shut the door, Arthur raised his head. "Ah, Prince George, we haven't seen you since you were very young. You have proven to have grown to be such a fine young man"

George beamed, "Thank you your majesty, I can say the same for yourself. I still remember the first time I met you and you haven't grown a single year"

Merlin choked a laugh, Maree got the gist of his words and slightly frowned. Elliot just shrugged him off, but Arthur had not been harmed a bit. "Thank you George"

"Have you all eaten breakfast?" Merlin asked the three younglings. "No, we haven't my lord" Elliot spoke, "We all had to wake up early so we haven't had the time"

"Then, let's all go into the dining hall for a bite shall we? I have heard that the cook has been making homemade vegemite for you Maree" Merlin said and Maree's eyes shot up, "Really?! Yay!" And George's eyes scrunched up in disgust. As Merlin and Arthur motioned for everyone to follow them, George approached Elliot and whispered, "Who eats that sick stuff right?"

"I beg your pardon George, but my mother was born in Australia and I am quite fond of it. Though it might be salty, it is quite good for you" And he proceeded to follow Merlin and Arthur.

"It was a good idea for you to join us early while you were at Hogwarts, though you had to stay another day. What did you do?" Arthur asked, slightly curious. "I decided to attend one of the classes after I finished my usual homework my lord. I wasn't expecting much but I was quite surprised as the classes were much different and mysterious. It was kind of Maree to escort me around the castle and the food is very delicious"

"I am pleased to hear that you had a pleasant day George, we will have some chambers set up for you within the hour. Your Grandmother will be here to see you soon. Let us have breakfast first"

"Alright your majesty" George smiled up at him.


	15. Chapter 15 - The Day before the Wedding

"Good afternoon dear Maree! Could you help hang these curtains?" Gwen called out to the ten year old girl. "Oh! Of course, that must be terribly heavy" Maree nodded and used her magic to help hang up the gold and Camelot red curtains, maids and servants were setting up bouquets of flowers in certain areas and polishing the floors in time for the wedding the next day. The decorating throughout the whole castle has been finished and the place looks absolutely stunning, Arthur intended to marry Merlin upon the sunrise outside the castle but Merlin wanted it to be in the great hall where Arthur was crowned King so he can join him at his side. But also agreed to do it at the time during the sunrise.

Merlin is in high spirits, therefore the weather is absolutely wonderful, its spring and everything is blooming beautifully and Camelot looks like as if it's shining gold from the sun.

"Arthur, we need to get dressed in our old clothes for the photoshoot, and bring our new ones along" Merlin said, "I asked Mike to do something a bit special"

"Oh?" Arthur raised an eye, "What? A photoshoot?"

Merlin smiled at his reaction, "Yeah, for the both of us, and we are having Maree included as well in our newer clothes"

"That is brilliant idea, a whole family photo" Arthur visually imagined the picture, "Then why don't we include Gaius as well, he is your Uncle"

"That is not a bad idea, in fact, why don't I invite him now while he isn't busy?"

"Go on, I'll have everything prepared when you get back" Arthur gives Merlin a quick kiss before Merlin leaves to the physicians chambers. With a polite knock, Merlin is allowed access inside.

"Oh! Merlin! Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, no. Gaius, I came here with an invitation" Merlin assured him, as there is nothing wrong with the baby. "Arthur, Maree and I are doing a photoshoot today, and we wondered that as you are also part of the family, if you would like to join us"

"Merlin, I would love to! When does it start?" Gaius looked overjoyed to be invited.

Merlin took out his old pocket watch from his front pocket and looked at the time, "Thirty minutes, at best" He said, putting it away.

"I'll come right over once I have done this report Merlin"

"Brilliant, I look forward to seeing you. It'll be done in the dance hall"

"Alright. Hop on, Arthur will be waiting for you"

With a nod, Merlin went out of Gaius's chambers and went back to his own. But it appeared empty of Arthur, he looked around and couldn't find his King.

"Merlin!" He heard the familiar voice call out. When he turned around, he was met with Arthur and all of his Knights of the Round Table. Elyan, Leon, Mordred, Percival and Gwaine.

"Why are they all here?" Merlin asked. "Because Merlin, they are part of our family too"

"Aw, Arthur how can they not be? You can be so soft sometimes"

Arthur huffed in response, "I can be nice once in a while!"

Gwaine laughed at the two of them. "Is Maree here yet?" Percival asked. "Yes, she will be coming in just a minute" Merlin said as he heard fast approaching footsteps, and Maree popped up in front of the Knights.

"I'm here!" She called out from below and all the knights made way for the princess, still in her Hogwarts uniform and cloak, she raised her wrist to reveal a Pendragon symbol inked with gold. "Everyone got their marks! And I was the first one to have a Pendragon symbol! I feel so proud"

"That's wonderful Maree" Merlin gave her a mighty big hug, "What did your friend Elliot get?"

Her smile quickly turned into a frown, "We don't know. He is kind of upset that they didn't get a match. He might be a witch we bet, the first of his kind"

Merlin frowned, "The people cannot get a match from a certain country? Anything?"

Maree shook her head, "They tested England, modern Camelot, Australia, Africa, Iceland, Greenland, America, South America, Spain, Germany, Japan, China, Singapore, but nothing"

Merlin hummed, "We might have to look into it after the shoot, for now, let's focus on the photos. Are you all ready?"

Maree nodded, "All prim and proper, ready and rearing to go"

They all took a whole family photo as soon as Gaius came in, then they took a photo of Merlin, Arthur and Maree by themselves with their crowns on, Merlin and Arthur by themselves, and then Merlin and Arthur in their old clothes when Arthur was King and Merlin was his manservant. After looking at their photos, with great satisfaction, they gave Mike the thumbs up and started packing everything up.

"Arthur" Merlin turned to his future husband, "Yes?" Arthur asked as they changed behind the screen to get back into their modern royal clothing. "Maree told me that Elliot got no blood result"

"I heard. That is a bit of a concern…..who knows he could be related to?"

Merlin bit his lip, "I have an idea, but it's kind of a crazy one", Arthur frowned, "What?"

"I was thinking…why don't we try ancient druid blood? From Mordred?"

Arthur gaped, "But the druids don't exist anymore, you said so yourself", "I know, but there could have been some survivors. We don't know, some may have been slipped out our fingers. Maybe….his parents could have been killed for a reason? On purpose? I don't know, but something tells me that we should look into it. If he doesn't match Mordred's blood then we can dismiss my theories"

Arthur hummed for a bit, "Okay, I'll get Mordred, see to it and if we have a match then I'll give this assignment to Gwen for a further investigation"

Once they finished getting dressed, Arthur approached Mordred. "Mordred, could you do me a favour… actually, it's for Maree's friend, Elliot"

"Anything sire, what seems to be the matter?" Mordred asked, judging Arthurs face. "Elliot has no blood match"

"I have heard, I was there and once he started crying, I had to comfort him"

"Poor boy. Merlin and I were wondering if you could submit a sample of your own blood to see if we could find a match for Ancient druids. Just….a thought"

Mordred frowned, "I think that is a good idea"

Then Merlin sensed some concern from Mordred. "What is it?" he asked, watching his face.

"It's just…..his magic seems to be awfully familiar. I haven't felt it in a terribly long time, when I first met him, I was immediately filled with wonder. Whatever you may have in your head, I think is right" he said and then he bowed, dismissed himself, and went to Gaius's chambers, leaving Merlin thinking.

"Is everything alright Merlin?" Arthur asked, and Merlin nodded. "Yes, it's just that Mordred also has his concerns as well. Elliot's magic is familiar to him"

"Well, we have our marriage to think about first. Let's have Gwen worry about it first" Arthur said, and Merlin nodded. "Us first, Elliot later" He smiled.

Mordred walked down to Gaius's chambers briskly and knocked on the door.

"Come in" Gaius called out, and Mordred stepped in. "Oh, Mordred, what brings you here?" He asked, as he swished blood samples in their test tubes with the rest of the nurses in the room.

"I am here about Elliot on Merlin's request. He has no match for any of our samples here in Camelot"

"Oh yes, that poor boy. I worked hours on his, and I couldn't find anything. He was so excited for his results"

"Well. Merlin and I were wondering if you could take some of my own blood for ancient druids instead of modern druids" He suggested, putting his wrist forward a bit. Gaius frowned, "We never know but it's worth a shot"

"Come with me then" Gaius got up from his desk and then let Mordred sit down before he could get the right equipment. "It's a good idea that you have come in, though, if there is a match it may just be a complete miracle"

"I can imagine" Mordred huffed as Gaius got a needle and Mordred started getting goose bumps at the sight of it. "Ever seen a needle before Mordred?" Gaius asked judging by the fear on Mordred's face, "Yes but I find them quite frightening"

"Just look the other way and you won't feel it"

Mordred looked away from the needle and felt the slight tinge in his shoulder after lifting his shirt up. He sighed once it went away.

"I will tell you the results by this afternoon personally" He got a bandage and put it on Mordred's shoulder. "Now you should go and tell Elliot what you have been doing so he can have some hope"

Mordred nodded, "I should, thank you"

"Thank you for coming"

And Mordred left the chamber to go to Elliot's own chamber, he knocked but received no answer. Although, he could feel his magic on the other side of the door, so he opened it to reveal a quite upset ten year old.

"Hello Elliot" Mordred spoke softly and the boy raised his head, "Mordred, what brings you here?" He sniffed.

Mordred approached Elliot and sat down next to him, "I came to tell you that I submitted my blood to see if you could be related to me in any way, so there still may be hope to see what you may be"

Elliot smiled, "Thank you Mordred. That means much to me, though, it sounds quite impossible. But what if it isn't a match?"

"Then we will have to look into your family tree and see why you are one of a kind, you may be a brand new species of wizards"

"So I might be a witch"

"Yeah, that is likely" Mordred puts an arms around Elliot and gives him a hug, "If you're not, I just might be a legitimate Father. And you might end up being my grandson"

Elliot hummed, "Why don't we ask Gwen about my parents? I heard that she holds everything, maybe she will have something"

"That is not a bad idea. She had enormous amounts of information that she has access to, why don't we go and see her now?" Mordred suggested and Elliot immediately nodded and got up, "Let's go now, can we?"

"Let's go" And Mordred lent his hand to take Elliot straight to Gwen.

Gwen's office was always full of paperwork sometimes but then after a month it would be completely organised in shelves and cupboard, when they got there Gwen happened to be in the middle of cleaning the place.

"Gwenivere" Mordred bowed, and when Elliot recognised who Gwen was he awkwardly bowed as well. Gwen turned around and saw them both, "Sir Mordred, what can I do for you?" Then she turned to Elliot, who seemed to be blushing a bit, "And who may you be?"

"Uh" Elliot caught his breath, "My name is Elliot Gwenivere. I am here with Mordred to look up my parents and my family to find traces of what magical group I may be related to, country, I mean"

"Elliot, do you have a surname?" Gwen asked and Elliot shook his head, "Not that I remember, I was an infant when I lost my parents"

"Oh" Gwen frowned, "Let's see what I find within the database on the 8mputer shall we?" She went up to her desk and Elliot joined her, after a few taps on the keyboard, Gwen found a match for Elliot. "There you are, your last name is Vytel"

Within a second Mordred had his eyes on the screen, "What?!"

"It says right there Mordred, what's wrong?" Gwen looked at Mordred's surprised face.

"That is a druid family. I knew them for guarding Yggdrasil and every year in our group they would celebrate the mistletoe after cutting them down with golden sickle. They had strict regulations for keeping the family line but it has been _centuries_ "

"Might they be my family? I must be connected to an ancient druid family?" Elliot asked, hope rising to his face.

"Gwen, can you get this on paper? If the blood tests go out positive, then this is worth getting out to Merlin and Arthur" He poorly uses the mouse and looks through the family tree to see the obvious family blood ties. "Get this down on paper, the family tree, documents, everything"

"I can do that" Gwen took the laptop space and set the printer to print the documents out, Mordred almost jumped at the machine sound and watched the paper get printed out with awe. Once the first page came out, he picked it up and examined it. "Wow…."

"Have you never seen a printer before Mordred?" Elliot asked, "So that is what this thing is called…"

"I'm guessing that is a no"

Gwen giggled and gathered the rest of the papers and gave them to Mordred, "Thank you Gwen, I'll get these to Merlin, let's go Elliot"

Elliot nodded his head, "Thank you Gwen" he bowed before they both left the room. And they walked, half ran to Merlin and Arthur's room, knocking on their door several times before they received an answer.

"Mordred, what on earth is the matter?" Merlin opened the door to see Mordred in a rush, "We have a lead on Elliot's family, this is his database" He gives Merlin the papers and he scans them right away.

"Elliot Vytel huh?"

"It's a druid family that looked after Yggdrasil centuries ago, they were seers to overlook anyone who would try and disturb the tree. I remember them too clearly"

Merlin gives Mordred a surprised look and then looks at Elliot, "Elliot, are you a seer, can you look into the future, and sometimes have any nightmares?"

Elliot nodded his head, "When I was going to get my results, the nurses gave me this bracelet to help me with my dreams" he pulled up his sleeve to reveal his bracelet. Then Merlin looked at Mordred straight in the eye, "Have you given a blood sample to Gaius?"

"Yes, about ten minutes ago or so" Mordred nodded, "They will have the results already, let's go now to get them, if the results are positive I want to be the first person to know" he turned to Arthur inside the room, "Arthur, I will be back in a moment, wait for me will you?"

"Of course Merlin" Arthur called out, and then with a nod, Merlin bid Arthur goodbye and shut the door to let Mordred lead him to Gaius's chambers.

When they got to Gaius's chambers, they opened the door to a bewildered Gaius, his mouth dropped to an amazing extent as he held two parchments of tested DNA. "Gaius. What is it?" Merlin asked, judging by the results in his hands, something has happened.

"It's come out positive"

Mordred gasped, Merlin almost went white and Elliot gasped in surprise and then hugged Mordred by the legs. "You're my Grandpa!" He squealed.

"Wait, hold on a minute. We have a _second_ druid of _ancient_ blood?" Merlin asked in shock, "That is correct, I tested the blood over three times now and they all came out the same way"

Merlin let out a shocked breath, "I'm sorry, I cannot seem to grasp it" he said, grabbing a chair and sitting down slowly to make sure that his legs don't wobble down to the floor. "But how? How such ancient blood can come down for so long? With such old magic?" Mordred asked.

"It's a miracle" Gaius said, looking at Merlin and then at Mordred who has his mouth gaping.

"I shall have the papers done immediately to confirm his blood, we will have a new symbol for him" Then Gaius looked at Mordred, "And for Mordred of course"

"So…I am a legitimate Father" Mordred said, letting it all sink in. Then he crouched down to the beaming Elliot, he didn't know what to think or feel but then when he looked at the boy he .could clearly tell that he is so happy that he has found his own blood. But for himself he has lived for ten years without his own kind, Kara was killed, and that was his only love. Now that is changed and he doesn't know what to say.

"So, now that we have the results, what do you want to do?" he asked him, straight away, Elliot gave him an answer. "Can you be my Dad?" He asked, then after a short silence he added "Please?"

Mordred smiled, "I have been away from my own kind for so long, so Mordred here doesn't know what to say or feel. But there is one thing I do know"

Elliot turned his head to the side to wait for an answer. "There is nothing better than family, and the love in that family. Someone I loved was killed centuries ago, and losing your parents is something that no one deserves. There is a good family here, and I'd be more than overjoyed to have you in it. With myself, Merlin, Arthur, the knights, Maree, everyone"

"So. I will be in everyone's family?"

"Yes" Mordred smiled, "And I'll be there in it with you, as your Dad"

Another smile rose on the little boys face and Mordred gave him a hug, Elliot returned the hug. As he hugged him, he looked up a smiling Merlin and nodded to him while Gaius proceeded to grab a piece of paper and write, he also went up to one of his own mentors and the young man started typing on his laptop.

"How about a small tree on your wrist?" Mordred suggested once they broke the hug. "Oh I would love that! I would really really love that! But what about you?"

Mordred hummed, "I have an idea, wait till you see it then you'll know what it will look like"

"And then, how will I stay in Camelot during the school holidays?" He asked. "Arthur and I can provide you some chambers suited for small families" Merlin answered, "That way you can live together with everything you need"

"Thank you Merlin, you are very grateful" Mordred said. "What is left now is to sign the adoption papers"

Soon Gaius had handed the adoption papers to Mordred. Thinking again, he remembered that he had lost his own Father at Elliot's age and had no parents to look after him either, so doing this, looking after a boy that he can claim as his own son, he felt that a little disappear.

Elliot put his hand on Mordred's own and the boy felt the movement of Mordred's hand signing the paper.

It has been done. And a smile widened on his face.

"We did it son, we're a family now" Mordred said and Elliot beamed, hugging his new Father by the waist. And then he started to cry softly.

"What's wrong?" Mordred's smile drooped, "I thought that no-body wanted me, but you do! And you're the nicest person in the world Dad"

"Well, your story has a happy ending" Mordred got out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his eyes. "Yes, that was a very generous thing to do" Merlin added. "It's proof that you have a pure heart"

Mordred smiled at Merlin's words and told Elliot to blow his nose.

"I will tell Arthur about this and organise the chambers for you"

"Thank you Merlin" Mordred said, and then looked at Elliot, "Now, what would you like to do now since that we are family now?" He asked as Merlin grabbed the papers and bowed before leaving the room.

"I want to tell Maree first. And….do you have any work?"

"Yes, I am afraid I do. I have to look after Maree"

"Then…..let's go for a horse ride! In the forest! With Maree, all three of us, it'll be great!"

"That sound like a wonderful idea, let's go and do that. I'll get some horses ready, why don't you go and invite her over?" Mordred suggested, Elliot nodded and went along to find Maree.

Mordred stood up and let it sink in, he's a Father now. He took a breath.

"Merlin is right. That was a very kind thing to do. He has no last of his own kin, it must mean so much for him to be adopted by his own kind, well, the last of his own kind"

"I feel glad. I am the only one who can look after him, and now he will be able to grow happily and be able to learn his old traditions from myself and he'll carry them to everyone else, his own children and beyond"

"If there is anyone who can take care of him, it's you Mordred"

"Yeah" Mordred breathed again, "You know what, I think I am just as glad as him, I am not the only druid in the world anymore. There is Elliot, and you know what, there may be more of them that may have been in hiding"

Elliot is the sheer proof, though it is not entirely possible to keep a stable ancient druid blood line. He is a miracle"

"You are right. He is a miracle"

"Welcome back Merlin" Arthur greeted his fiancé once Merlin came inside. "What did you get on to?" He asked before Merlin smiled, "Arthur, look at this" Merlin gave Arthur a bunch of papers. At first Arthur's brows furrowed, "His family linage goes back terribly far…."

"Yes it does, and guess what, Mordred immediately recognised his last name. Vytel is a druid family that looked after Yggdrasil and his blood results with Elliot's came out with positive with similar druid DNA. He's got a solid connection with his ancestors"

Arthur's eyes widened, "He's a druid? An _ancient_ druid?"

"I was shocked myself, Gaius's mouth was hanging in shock, so much that he retested their blood several times" Merlin's smile grew wider.

"So Mordred is no longer the last druid among us" Arthur chuckled in surprise, "This is…..this is a miracle! A Miracle Merlin, who knows that there might be other druids?"

"Well, we haven't had any others come into our school coming out negative with any of our blood samples have we?'

"But with Mordred's blood now, we can a higher chance" Arthur kisses Merlin when Merlin sits down next to him. "Yes, and that's not the least of it"

"What? Did something else happen?" Arthur asked, and Merlin had a twinkle in his blue eyes. "Mordred adopted Elliot". For a second Arthur spluttered in shock, almost falling off his chair " _What_?" And Merlin nodded his head, "He's become a father, he's going to look after Elliot, he's the closest he has to his own kind"

"That's so generous of him, he'll grow up to learn his traditions from Mordred. The druid linage will grow on, isn't that wonderful?"

"Yeah. This way, with Mordred's blood we could find more ancient druids. Other than that, we will have to warn Mordred before the scientists want to get their hands on poor Elliot"

"I'll make sure that Gwen knows while we are away. She will be looking after the Kingdom for us and Mordred will be looking after our Maree"

"They will be going to school soon so they will be completely safe. Speaking of that…" Merlin checks his pocket watch, "The Hogwarts students will be arriving in any minute! Let's go see them!" He stood up immediately with Arthur to check his attire as Arthur also did Merlin's and Merlin got out Arthur's crown so he can carefully put it on top of his King's head, and Arthur put on Merlin's Kingmaker crown on and they both smiled at each other before heading out to the front courtyard for the students schools arrival. The students beamed with excitement when they arrived and stopped in front of their Sorcerer and King to bow.

'Everyone here at Camelot including Merlin and myself are glad to see that you have all made it on time to join us. Please follow us so we can guide you all to your common rooms"

Merlin and Arthur had set a room for Elliot and Mordred to move in while they settled the students into their common rooms, and they also met the President of England that came to visit for a few days, he is a well-known friend of theirs so meanwhile when they were busy they had some servants guide them to their new room to settle in.

It was quite larger than the last room Mordred had, two huge beds sat comfortably far from each other as to give them both some space and a nice bathroom at the left, with two desks and closets with a table and chairs in the middle of the room.

"It looks perfect for a small family room" Mordred commented, smiling as Elliot nodded in response, "Now, since that we want to go on that ride, we will have to leave our things here if we are going to meet Maree at the stocks in time" Mordred suggested.

"Good idea" Elliot places his suitcases on his bed as well as Mordred putting his own belongings on his bed and they went out the door to the stables.

"Elliot! Mordred! I heard that you adopted Elliot, that was so nice of you! I still can't believe that Elliot is a druid even"

"I can hardly believe it myself" Elliot said, "I finally have a Father, after so many years of being in an orphanage, I now have a place"

"I am very happy for you" Maree smiled and gave Elliot a hug.

"Mordred and Elliot got their room" Merlin said to Arthur as they got back to their room after sorting out the students. "That's good, I hope everyone settled in nicely. The students were quite excited" Arthur sat down on their bed and took off his crown to put it away.

"They we're. Though you were talking with Gaius before, he had an eyebrow raised quite high. What did you say to him?"

Arthur rolled his eyes to the side and turned his head to hide his small blush, "I asked him if it was okay for us to make love tomorrow night after our wedding during your stage of pregnancy"

Merlin elbowed Arthur in the ribs, "Hey!"

"You asked him such a thing! What did he say?"

"He said that we can if we're careful. As long as you use those protection spells you will be fine" Arthur puts his hand on Merlin's and rubs it. Merlin turned his head to the side and wondered, "What about if I get really horny in my eighth month?"

Arthur scoffed, "Alright…..as long as we're careful"

"Thank you, you have no idea how stressing it was the last time" Merlin of relief. "Well, you tried you jump me so many times and I was worried if I could hurt Maree if we did it"

"Well, we know now" Merlin smiled and put his arms around Arthur as they both snuggled cheek to cheek.

After a moment of silence Arthur chuckled, "Remember when we first did it on this very bed, we were shy to touch each other?"

Merlin smiled, "It was different to just touching you when I used to scrub you clean in your bath in the old days. But because we both felt that way, we were a bit shy. But I think you were much more shier than myself because you never seen me naked before"

"Well. I have to admit, that when we had our hunting trips, I used to stare at you when we both bathed in a lake or something. I used to think that you had the back of a woman"

"I do _not_ have the back of a woman"

"Merlin, how many times have we done it with your back facing me? It's slim, white and pretty"

Merlin felt very flattened and blushed red. "Seriously, have you seen your back?" Arthur asked. "Take your shirt off and look in the mirror, I'll show you" He stood Merlin up and took off his jacket and shirt then moved Merlin in front of a mirror, turned him around to reveal his slim back before Merlin turned his head to see it.

" _You're kidding_ " he said as he stared at his back, bewildered. "Yup" Arthur smiled happily, grinning at the slightly visible teeth marks on his back from last time which they were pretty sure was almost a month ago.

"Now I know why you have such a back fetish" Merlin grinned, "Oh Shut up Merlin"

"You like biting my pretty back Arthur" Merlin smiled like a loon.

"Well, when I do you tighten up around me"

Merlin blushed again as he put his shirt back on, "That mouth of yours Arthur, really"

Arthur let out a laugh at his choice of words, "I'm not the one urging you to go faster Merlin"

"Arthur, shut up" Merlin growled, "You're such a prat"

"Awwwww" Arthur awed and hugged Merlin from behind, kissing him on the cheek. "You're so cute" and Merlin made a "humph" sound but nuzzled against Arthur's cheek anyway and gave into Arthur's warmth.

After a new nuzzles Merlin didn't feel mad anymore, and then started to feel Arthurs warm body. He closed his eyes to feel slowly, then his hips almost arched at the feeling. Doing that, he realised something.

"Arthur?"

"Yes Merlin?" Arthur asked, as he could feel the rising tension in Merlin. "It looks like that I don't seem to care about your cute banter about us" He looked at Arthur and licked his lips as he grabbed Arthur's hand and raised it down his body.

"Merlin" Arthur moaned through his teeth as Merlin arched his butt against Arthur, holding onto his arms to balance.

"You know…." Merlin rubs his arse against Arthurs rising erection. "This position is my favourite other than doing it on the bed facing you. You can easily hit my sweet spot this way"

"Merlin, is it me or are you the one doing the dirty talk now?" Arthur asked, suddenly aroused.

"My mouth has always been this dirty, you know where it's been"

" _Merlin!_ "

Merlin laughed and before he could moan again from Arthurs sudden movements of grinding his erection against him, he silenced the room with a spell. As Arthur moved, he could feel himself lubricating inside, and that was arousing even but they have never done it like this before. What does it feel like?

Merlin moved Arthurs hand down to slide inside his pants and in his underwear to touch, and immediately he had already stuck in a finger. "You're already wet down there Merlin" Arthur breathed.

"I'm self-lubricating Arthur, I'm a woman- Oh!" Merlin moaned as Arthur had already hit his favourite spot, his hips bucked again and he is pretty sure that he needs something to lean on pretty soon before he loses his strength. Looking around, he grabs their office desk and puts his weight on it but arches against Arthur as Arthur rubs inside.

While he does so, Merlin grows impatient and yearns for more, to feel Arthur inside his female organs. So he moves a hand back and unbuckles Arhur's belt with one hand and utters his protection spell.

"Want- you…now" Merlin breathed as his arousal grew across his stomach and eventually filling him whole, he loosely pulled Arthurs pants apart and let his erection spring free. Following Merlin, Arthur untied Merlin's pants and let them drop with his underwear, he hissed at the feeling of his erection touching the cold air.

"Are you ready?" Arthur asked, and Merlin nodded rapidly. "Now, I want you now"

"Impatient as ever" Arthur chuckled and positioned himself before slowly pushing in.

Merlin's eyes widened as long he ever had in his life, it was amazing, his body shook violently at the heavenly feeling of Arthur entering him, he couldn't even stop the loud moan following Arthurs own moan from his mouth. He had almost came, or whatever a woman could, he gripped the table hard.

"Arthuuuur" Merlin moaned again and he heard a violent growl from Arthur. "Fuck me, it's so good…." He felt his mouth gape and his eyes roll.

"I am so doing this for the next seven months" Arthur growled and slammed into Merlin hard, gaining a large yelp from Merlin. His body gave way and he dropped to the table, but no matter, Arthur kept on thrusting and oh god, it was so _good._ So he started to move his hips as hard as he could muster.

He could feel his saliva dripping out of his mouth as he moaned, and after not so long, he could feel his body buckle- something was coming. Not knowing what, he held on tight which made Arthur grunt, "You're squeezing Merlin, I'm going to come already"

"Some-thing- is-com…" He breathed through moans, "Oh the hell with it!" he grabbed Arthurs hip and pulled at it, "More…." He begged which made Arthur go faster in an uncontrolled pace.

Arthur started moaning loudly as Merlin's magic started to go wild, touching Arthur's skin and sharing what his body is feeling. "God- you- really- are going to be the death of me"

With a final few thrusts Arthur bucked and then felt himself shudder violently a few times as he spilt inside Merlin, Merlin gasped and felt himself shake with Arthur as he felt himself be flooded with Arthur, as his body dropped to the desk, he knew that his body did something.

After a few hazy breaths, Arthur finally picked up his voice, "Merlin…." Arthur spoke, sounding surprised but croaky. "Did you just _squirt_?"

"Huh?" Merlin lifted his head, "So that's what it was"

"You just coated me with your _female_ ejaculation" Arthur panted, still trying to catch his breath and then by feeling Merlin's insides, he realised by how much he had come inside. Merlin smiled.

"Merlin…..I think I came a little too much inside"

Merlin grinned, "I know, you've always been a premature ejaculator Arthur. It's part of your soft and emotional side"

Arthur rolled his eyes, and then turned his attention at Merlin. "I want more" Merlin admitted, sighing, but his body is too exhausted already to move. "And I don't think I can pull out Merlin, I think I came too much"

"It has been a month, you probably have so much stored up" Merlin panted and the regained control of his breath before wiping his mouth, then he felt something else coming, "Arthur" He arched, "I need to pee"

"Woman always need to go after a good session like this" Arthur lifted Merlin up carefully and took him to the bathroom, quickly taking him out and laying him down on the toilet seat before Merlin sighed heavily while holding onto Arthur.

After a while, silence came to them again and they both relaxed. "We definitely must do this again Merlin"

"I agree" Merlin nodded without hesitation, "That was the best thing ever"

Arthur then lifted one of Merlin's legs to see him leaking, "Yeah, I came a bit too much"

"Too much? I'm full, I'm flooded, and it'll take forever to take it all out"

"No matter, I learned the spell you use to clean that all up" Arthur smiled and Merlin heard the sweet words of the spell come out of his lips before he felt himself clean again.

"Brilliant, you learned" Merlin smiled and kissed Arthur, "Now for you" Merlin added and cleaned Arthur up with magic. "So what now?"

"Time for bed, we need to get some sleep for our wedding tomorrow" Arthur suggested.

"I cannot wait for that, I don't think I will be able to sleep, we haven't even had dinner"

"You're pregnant, you need more hours"

"Point taken, sleep with me?"

"Of course, always"


	16. Chapter 16 - Arthur's Diary Entry 1

Arthur's Diary

The most negative and positive times with Merlin

1.

We we're in the bath for the first time together when the bubbles turned off at the worst time after wresting in that hot water. We only just confessed to each other a while ago about our love for each other.

….To be honest, it was very embarrassing deep down.

"Arthur" Merlin breathed, his senses seemed to start shaking and he closed his eyes and looked away. "Damn, sorry, was that even supposed to happen?" He blushed red, he had no idea what to feel or think.

"I'm pretty sure you have seen me down there before" Arthur teased, "Yes, but….not like that! I've bathed you and washed those sorts of places-I never thought of it like that, I don't make much notice-oh my god why am I babbling about this?" Merlin planted his hands on his face and groaned.

"Merlin" Arthur almost laughed when Merlin realised how much of him was showing and covered his own crotch. He didn't know how to look at Arthur in that situation.

Arthur hummed, then he comfortably sat down next to Merlin with his side turned to Merlin. "Would you like to take it slow?" He asked as Merlin had his eyes squeezed shut, he let his muscles calm down.

"Merlin, look at only my face. Can you do that?' Arthur asked, sounding as calm as he could, after a while, Merlin slowly opened his eyes, his hands still covering below he looked straight at Arthur's face and desperately tried not to stare.

"Well done Merlin" Arthur smiled and looked at Merlin's eyes in the hot steamy air, and Merlin softly smiled back before Arthur decided to lean his chin on Merlin's shoulder. "There, this feels just right"

Merlin hummed as he looked into Arthur's eyes, falling into them before laying his own cheek on his head smiling. He felt the ruffle of Arthur's hair and smiled even more, then eventually he forgot how embarrassed he was and wrapped his arms around him. Soon, Arthur lifted his own hands and carefully hugged Merlin around the back, feeling the first contact of his skin.

"You're so soft Merlin" Arthur commented.

Merlin could already feel the tears rising in his eyes and sniffed, "I love you" He croaked.

Arthur patted his back gently, "I love you too Merlin" And he lifted his head up to see him, and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips "And I want to show you that, so don't be shy, and show me your love too"

Merlin's eyes opened a bit more in response and then they directed down to his chest. "Then..?"

"Here, I'll help you" Slowly, Arthur took a hand and placed it on his chest "There, can I…" Arthur asked and Merlin nodded in response, "You can, I'm all yours"

Arthur smiled and gently placed a hand on Merlin chest, he took a breath and chuckled. "You're soft too, can I touch some more?"

"Hmm hmm" Merlin nodded again before putting his hand over Arthur's own to explore with him until eventually they felt much more comfortable with looking, touching and feeling, though, Merlin still had some blush in his cheeks which crawled up to his ears.

"So cute Merlin" Arthur commented, Merlin just mumbled and leaned into Arthur's touch and started kissing his hand. "I'm appreciating you. I'm very happy to have you back, you have no idea"

"That goes the same for me too" Arthur said and Merlin gave him a quick kiss on the lips before hugging him. "Shall I haul you up?" Arthur asked, "Well, okay" And Arthur put his hands around Merlin's waist and pulled him up out of the spa, "There we go" And Merlin grabbed a towel, ignoring the direct skin to skin touch and started drying Arthur's hair while being carried.

 _"_ _I very much like this position"_ Merlin thought and uttered a spell that dried them both instantly.

"Touché" Arthur said, impressed before Merlin dropped the towel and kissed Arthur passionately. "Mmm" Arthur gave him an immediate response. "You're-still…..hard" Merlin took a second to look down and his eyes widened, "Oh, god, it's….er….big"

Arthur burst out laughing, "Oh Merlin, it can't even go anywhere, you're not a woman"

"Oh? Then I have something to show you, bring me to the bed"

Arthur became confused but went on with it, "Okay, let's go then" And he carried Merlin to their bed that they shared, "So…." He laid him down before Merlin pulled open a drawer and pulled out some things. He got out a packet and tore it open to reveal a plastic circular thing…

"I don't know any spells but you need protection first to prevent any diseases, I'll show you how to put it on"

Arthur was completely confused but he went on with it, Merlin demonstrated how to put it on but he was nervous but Arthur assured him that he can touch, still standing and stiff, Merlin wrapped his hand around Arthur's gently and Arthur flinched at the skin contact, _god, Merlin was touching him_ and they successfully got it on Arthur. He squirmed a bit but when he saw the "lube" he flinched, "That's cold"

"I know" Merlin reached out and touched him gently before taking his time to lubricate him, "I don't understand Merlin, what are we even doing?" He asked, frowning.

"I'm showing you how two men 'do it'" Merlin said, finishing up, "Now…" he lifted up his hand covered in lube and started to enter himself with a finger. Arthur's eyes widened, "God, Merlin…. _there_? Are you sure?"

"I am practically made for this" Merlin grabbed Arthur's shoulder and laid down before opening up his legs to him. "Now what was the spell….." His eyes fluttered at every little pleasure he felt, and uttered a spell before he was loosened up. "Whoa" Arthur couldn't help but stare.

"There….is something called the prostate, if you can enter me and hit that spot you'll hear me moaning"

"You want to do this? Like really do this?" Arthur asked, surprised, he got up close and positioned himself, Merlin wrapped his arms around Arthur, "Yes, I am sure, I want to be yours, I want you to claim me" He said before kissing him, "I love you Arthur" He sniffed, "You mean everything to me, and I want to show that to you as well"

Arthur smiled, "Merlin" He put his hands on Merlin's back and then started to push in. As he did he watched Merlin's face. Merlin gasped and then his mouth opened as his head threw back and moaned, this edged Arthur on and he groaned, he could feel his dick being wrapped by Merlin, he gasped. "Oh _god_ "

"Go all the way in Arthur" Merlin begged, "It feels so good….then move"

Arthur then pulled out and then shoved back in which obtained a squeal from Merlin, he clenched his teeth tight and moaned. "Do it again"

"I never knew you were a beggar Merlin" And thrust in again, getting another deep moan from him.

 _"_ _I want to see his face when he comes"_ Arthur thought when he picked up a rhythm quickly due to Merlin's good responses from Arthur's movements.

Merlin's eyes rolled back and his body shivered violently, he had come early, Arthur looked down to see his release and then Merlin looked between them. "So _beautiful_ , so _good_ " He said and then looked up at Arthur. "We're connected Arthur" he said and kissed him lovingly, "Keep going, you've got to come too, this is our first time, right?"

He's right, this is their first time, and honestly, he was glad. "Yeah" and picked up his earlier rhythm before reaching his climax as well, his teeth grinded together as he felt his body shook, Merlin felt Arthur swell and he let out a sob.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked worriedly, catching his breath, "No, I'm- more than okay….." Merlin started weeping, "I'm so happy to share this with you, I love you forever and beyond, I'm so glad…you're back" He grabbed Arthur's hand and kissed it multiple times before crying into it.

"Merlin….Merlin love, I love you too, I'm right here" He said, and Merlin wrapped his legs around Arthur's waist. Merlin sobbed his heart out like never before, his face was instantly wet with hot tears, "My _love_ , my _Arthur_ " Arthur dropped his head down to touch Merlin's forehead and they breathed.

Then Merlin felt a tear drop on his cheek, he looked up to see a smiling, and crying Arthur. "Merlin" he said softly, sniffling, "Love" He leaned down to kiss a surprised Merlin who held him tighter than usual. Merlin cried softly and held him close, "I love you more than anything" Arthur said, "I don't want you to be sad, and I'll never die again. I'm here"

The two cried together happily till their eyes became red and sore, and Merlin started to get tired.

"One more thing to do" Merlin said, sniffling and then he placed a hand on his chest. "Put yours on mine too" And Arthur placed a hand on Merlin's chest before Merlin took his time and carefully chanted the spell. _"We're finally getting bonded"_ Arthur thought.

It wasn't long until the spell took effect and Merlin's eyes glow gold, then their bodies set alight as well before they started to dim away, Arthur felt his senses heighten and his skin feel Merlin's magic. As Merlin finished his words, he smiled up to Arthur, "Hold me" he said as Arthur cradled him, "Stay with me"

"Always"

Then Merlin's eye's fluttered closed, tired, he drowned into sleep. "Sleep Merlin, I'm here" Arthur gentled him while he grabbed a tissue and wiped him clean along with himself. After throwing the tissue in the bin, he shut the bedside curtains and went to get their clothes, even without any experience, he folded him by memory of how Merlin would do it and put them away. Then he called out a maid to clean the bathroom, next he got back into the bed and noticed that he still had the protection on him so he took it off and put it in the bin.

Merlin's hands were reaching out for his partner, and Arthur grabbed it as he got back into bed and wrapped his arms around Merlin. "There, I'm here" He snuggled up close and Merlin smiled in his sleep and snuggled up to Arthur, holding him close.

Arthur hummed, "So soft" he said, planting a kiss on Merlin's forehead.

2.

Merlin was looking forward to meeting the priests very much, though in my heart I sensed that they could look down at him in a way for his magic. So I knew that If they did, I would protect him in every way, and they did and I was not very happy.

"They are our new priests, John and Gary" Arthur introduced to Merlin who was excited to see them both, the two priests had their eyes shot wide at the sight of Merlin who immediately shook their hands. "It's such a pleasure to meet you both, we both want to show our respect to the Christian community by giving them a place of prayer" His eyes shone.

Gary nodded, "Merlin….correct?" he asked and Merlin nodded his head, "Merlin Ambrostis, Emrys or Myrddin, King of Druids" Arthur scoffed slightly, "Or greatest warlock to walk the earth, I have many names. But please call me Merlin"

"You practise magic?" John asked, Merlin nodded, "Yes, I was born with it"

Gary and John looked at each other and back at Merlin, "Such evil sir" they said to him and immediately Merlin's face frowned.

"Excuse me?" Arthur spat, anger in his voice. "Merlin is anything but evil, if you are going to assume anything, don't judge him by his magic"

"But isn't that what the legends say? His Father was a subuccus that impregnated woman, which is how Merlin got his powers. They are devil creatures your majesty"

"My Mother was human and so was my Father, many legends are very wrong" Merlin spoke, "My Father was a dragon lord, and I was raised by my Mother herself. And they were nothing but evil, they were beautiful people"

"Oh?"

"I have met them myself" Arthur added, "But then also my Father was someone who would execute people that used magic for good purposes such as healing their beloved and growing crops, they did nothing wrong, he was a tyrant. You see, people aren't evil by their tools, they are evil from the heart and Merlin used his magic to save my life many times without wanting any credit. So if you view Merlin as an evil being only because of what he's born with, I suggest you leave" Arthur held himself together from shouting at them.

"We see your views sire, we apologise, you gave respect to us, we will give respect back to you"

Arthur sighed harshly, "Thank you, I hope that we can guide each other on a lighted path that will connect us together in a peaceful union. Merlin was there to experience many magic users die upon your hands, and hate isn't going to fix anything. We want to move forward"

"Thank you your majesty"

Merlin smiled. "I hope we can all get along"

I was so very angry at them after that when they started asking questions about whether if I am cursed or enchanted by Merlin, Merlin had to calm me down after losing my anger. I was still fuming so in the end they apologised while bowing their heads and left. Since then they never questioned if Merlin was evil ever again.

3.

Even after everything, Merlin still gets depressed when he remembers something that pains him, it even hits him unexpectedly. And it is no less painful for me. Merlin is beautiful in every way, outside and inside, he is so strong, but strong people can always have some pain lingering inside their heart. That burden is always there, and that's normal, he just needed to find a way to recover and I am going to help him every step of the way.

"Time for bed Arthur" Merlin said as he had one arm around his big pregnant bump. There were at least a million papers on my desk where I had my head laying on some finished ones, Merlin always helped and he is usually the one who falls asleep first but because I insisted that he will get more sleep, I had taken the extra time and ended up falling asleep on my desk.

"Come on up dollophead" Merlin put his arms around Arthur and hauls him up with some effort.

"Mrrrrln…" Arthur grumbled, "I'm up…" He opened his eyes and pushed himself with his feet, "I don't want to harm our child Merlin, and I'll get myself in bed. Come join me"

"Alright" Merlin let Arthur do his own thing and they eventually got themselves in bed. "Come on Merlin, in you go" Arthur laid Merlin down gently and got in with him before pulling the sheets over them both, wrapping himself and Merlin.

"Goodnight my love" Merlin gives Arthur a kiss on the lips which makes them both smile, "Goodnight Merlin" Arthur gives a kiss back and then rubs Merlin's belly "Goodnight Maree" and kisses it. Smiling again, they press their foreheads against each other and fall asleep.

The next morning, Arthur had a camera in hand while glancing at Merlin's beautiful sleeping figure. He took a few photos of him secretly and stashed them away in their own picture album. Merlin can find out later. He had been smiling at his figure in the mornings in the past few days, because Merlin's pregnant belly had made him much more beautiful than usual.

He laid down next to Merlin and pretended to sleep while he raised the camera in the air to take a shot of them both sleeping, as the camera printed out the picture he gave it a shake a smiled as the picture started to form its colour.

"What are you doing?" Merlin mumbled as Arthur quickly put the camera away to avoid suspicion. But he chose to show him the photo he took, Merlin's eyes lit open and he smiled, "Awww you. You can be so sweet sometimes, even if you are a prat" He raises his head and gives him a big smooch on the lips, with a touch of their foreheads together, Merlin looks at the photo again.

"Have you been secretly taking photos of me?" He asked.

Arthur hummed, not looking at him in the eye, "Maybe….maybe not"

Merlin punched him in the shoulder, "Ow. You're tougher than you look" Arthur gave him an offended look, rubbing his shoulder.

"I am a knight after all"

"You are right, you can be thick in the skull sometimes. You don't listen to me or do as you're told"

"We always agree on something in court at least, or at the round table, or at the court of the round table. Private sessions, public, etc etc. Though I am really glad that we brought back up the round table up"

"I was really surprised by how much you argued with me to get it back"

"I was surprised myself too. Every single session feels like the first time doing it because everyone seems to know what we think of things as legendary figures, including myself as I have lived longer than anyone else and witnessed so many things"

"That's another thing that I am glad of, that you we're alive for so long to gain the experience for good future uses in court sessions. You know, the knights, Gwen, Gaius and everyone are still trying to adapt to the new world, thanks to you, they wouldn't have stepped forward in the light of the modern world"

"It's my pleasure" Merlin smiled, brushing Arthur's hair back before touching their foreheads together, "Good morning Arthur"

"Good morning Merlin" Arthur smiled.

They stayed like that for a while before Merlin's eyes widened and he breathed, "Arthur…"

"Hmm?" As Arthur lifted his head up to see Merlin's face, he looked like he was in shock, maybe surprise. "Merlin?"

Merlin looked up and touched his face before the tears started to flow, "Rise and shine sire!" As the pain came back to shred his heart, he clenched his teeth and sobbed. Arthur frowned instantly, "Oh Merlin…..what is the matter?" He cupped Merlin's face and curled over him, eventually holding him with his two arms.

Merlin remembered, on this day he would come inside Arthur's chambers and clean the place, he'd only come once a year. Clean Arthur's clothes, polish his boots, sharpen his sword, polish his armour and clean his chainmail, dust the room and clean the floors before opening the curtains to cue the next passing year.

 _"_ _Rise and shine sire"_

He just realised that the year before he had done that, but now it's different.

"Arthur. Happy birthday!" He sobbed as he forced a smile.

He had been so happy that he had forgotten his birthday.

"Merlin…" Arthur smiled, "You celebrated my birthday without me all this time?" Merlin nodded frantically, "Oh Merlin…." He wipes his lovers tears before kissing him multiple times to reduce his crying, as it works every time, Merlin forgets his sorrow and smiles before wrapping his arms around Arthur to kiss him back.

Right then Merlin felt a hard kick from the inside of his womb, they both froze and looked down to Merlin's stomach and laughed. "She kicked!"

"She moved Merlin" Arthur laughed, and they just couldn't stop as they felt Maree moving inside the womb. "She must have felt you crying. She's worried"

Merlin smiled, "It's alright, I am okay thanks to you" He looked up at Arthur, "And you"

They both laughed and kissed.

4.

That wasn't the end to Merlin's depression, it was slow, and he still did have nightmares sometimes especially on the day of my death and I wanted to do everything in my power to help.

"Arthur, what are you doing?" Gwen asked as she noticed her ex-husband cradling Merlin in his arms, soothing him and rocking him back and forward.

"He was twisting and turning so I went to soothe him right away. He still has nightmares occasionally" He said, kissing him on the forehead.

Gwen frowned, "But I thought that he doesn't have any anymore"

"I was told that Merlin has the worst nightmares, especially on the day of my death"

Gwen's frown deepened even further, "I remember. He would be scared terribly on those mornings, sometimes he would be paranoid. Once he….." She turned her head to the side, advoiding Arthur's eyes. "He ran all over the castle looking for you and didn't stop until he collapsed of exhaustion, we couldn't stop him, it was like he couldn't see us"

"Poor Merlin" Arthur went back to caressing him, frowning.

Suddenly Merlin stilled in Arthur's arms, Gwen's eyes widened, "That's the first sign" She hurried up to him and held one of his hands, Arthur braced himself for what was to come.

"Arthur?" Merlin called out in his sleep, "Arthur…..ARTHUR?!" His calls turned into shouts, and then into screams, "WHERE ARE YOU?! NO, THIS CAN"T BE HAPPENING!"

His body started to flail and the poor man sobbed, and Arthur tried to comfort him "Merlin, wake up, you're dreaming, I'm here…."

Merlin arms started to flail side to side so Gwen helped to hold them down, "Merlin!"

Arthur went up close to Merlin's ear and shouted. "MERLIN!"

Merlin's eyes shot awake, confusion hit him immediately. He breathed. "Arthur?"

"Merlin" Arthur spoke softly as to not scare him, Merlin shivered violently and grabbed onto Arthur, "Arthur…..Arthur….is this a dream?" He asked, his voice quivering.

"No, no it's not. What happened?"

Merlin sobbed, "It was awful….I woke up in my old bed and saw Camelot all old and dark as it was left, and you were gone…..like this never happened…." His grip tightened, and he hugged Arthur, Arthur held him tightly. Merlin squeezed his eyes tight and cried, "Love….Merlin I'm here, everyone is here, it's alright…"

It wasn't long before Merlin was crying loudly as if he was releasing the shock that he just experienced, Gwen left the room to give them room as she frowned deeply like it was the end of the world. "Merlin….." He held him tight.

"Arthur…" Merlin screwed his eyes shut as he held onto him and Arthur started to feel Merlin's magic cling onto him strongly.

Then Arthur had an idea, "Merlin, I have an idea. Get up for a second" With the abrupt change of mood, Merlin got up and Arthur stripped his pyjama's off until he was in his birth costume, confused, Arthur did the same with himself, shoving clothing away, he opened his arms up to him and Merlin hugged him, letting himself arch against Arthur's body. And immediately he felt soothed, comfortable and safe in his arms. It seemed that the clothes were like a barrier and he calmed down.

"It works, I am glad it does" Arthur smiled as he stroked Merlin's hair before pulling the covers over themselves and went back to soothing Merlin. He noticed Merlin's breathing even and his chest calm down, then turned them both to the side to make it more comfortable for his pregnant lover.

"Are you alright now?" He asked, still stroking him. And relief came to him when Merlin nodded.

"I don't like seeing you so sad Merlin, it makes me sad. So I am going to be here for you every step of the way to get rid of your long depression of losing me, because you will never again lose me. Ever"

Merlin smiled at the words, and held him as he kissed Arthur on the chin before holding Arthur up close. "You mean everything to me, without you, I am lost, dead" And the tears started spilling again. "Me too" Arthur said, his own tears threatening to spill. "I don't think how I can get over my Merlin being burdened for too long in his life, you don't deserve it, we both don't. I want you to be happy"

"I am already happy Arthur, there is just one more thing to get rid of to make us the happiest people in the world. Our burdens, don't get me wrong, I don't like them either"

Arthur's tears spilt freely and took a breath to control his breathing and the tightness in his chest, "Let us let it all out then shall we? Then we will feel much better. Then some sleep, we both deserve less negatives"

Merlin nodded before pressing his forehead against Arthur's before they both started hugging and crying together.

5.

We were in pure bliss and happiness when our Maree was born and the very first moments with her were the first steps into Merlin's recovery – though I seemed to be the emotional one most of the time. But these were the happiest moments of our lives.

"Merlin, the bath is ready" Arthur came out from the bathroom and back to the bed where Merlin carried their newborn Maree in his arms. The knights had just left so Merlin and Arthur can have their own private time with their new child.

"Arthur, can you carry me? My body is still quite sore from all the work" Merlin asked, "Sure, just let…me" Arthur put his arms under Merlin, positioned him right and hauled him up. "Hold on" He grunted, and carefully carried Merlin over to the bathroom.

"Do you feel alright?" Arthur asked and Merlin nodded before Arthur steadily laid him down into the spa and onto the seat. Merlin winced a little bit but calmed down shortly after, as Arthur stripped down his clothes Merlin lifted Maree up a bit to rest her on his chest. "There"

It wasn't long until Arthur stepped into the tub and joined him, "Ah" He sighed and moved up close to Merlin. "Hello" He eyed little Maree.

"She's so small" Merlin commented, "So beautiful"

"Yeah, look at what we both made Merlin, a beautiful little girl" Arthur puts his arms around Merlin's waist and put his hands on Merlin's to hold Maree as well with him and they both smile.

For a moment, Maree squirmed and then she slowly opened her eyes. Filled with crystal blue, they both gasped, "She has your eyes Merlin" Arthur said.

"Hello little one, welcome back" Merlin said, and immediately Maree smiled and gurgled happily, Arthur couldn't help the tears that welled up in his eyes, "She's perfect Merlin"

Maree made another happy sound as she reached out and grabbed Arthur's finger, "Aee, maa" She managed, and they both chuckled, "Paa, Daa" She spoke, using her tongue and lips to speak without any teeth. Merlin gave her a kiss on the forehead, Arthur following after, with both their heads down, Maree reached out to their faces and touched their foreheads.

"We are a family now aren't we?" Merlin said and Arthur nodded. "We should name her officially"

"How about Maree Emrys Pendragon?" Merlin suggested.

"That is a perfect name, we can make a bracelet for her with her name on it"

"That would be wonderful" Merlin looked back at Arthur and kissed him, Arthur's kiss back created a long smooch before Maree distracted them by splashing with her tiny arms and gurgling. Merlin smiled, "Let's all get cleaned up shall we?"

Merlin took his time to use the baby soap on Maree and clean her up before they washed themselves.

"Merlin" Arthur had taken notice of something. "Your privates are back to normal"

Merlin opened up his legs and took notice, "Oh yeah, you're right" He then turned his head to Arthur with a smirk "Pervert".

"Merlin!" Arthur said with surprise across his face, "Don't start calling me that!"

"No, not in public at least" He said when Maree snorted and they both smiled at the cute little snort, before a bit of silence, then Merlin couldn't help but start laughing with Arthur following shortly after.

"That was like….the cutest snort I've heard in my entire life!"

"Careful, we need to look after her right. She is so small" Arthur replaced Merlin's hands with his own to take her from Merlin's hands "Let's get you dry shall we? Can you get up?"

"My legs feel alright" He puts two hands on the tub and pushes himself up, "A bit stingy, but I'll manage"

Arthur got out as well and carried Maree with him, and dried her up with her new towel and then gave her back to Merlin once he got himself dried up. "Thank you" And he waited until Arthur was all dried up, and they went back to their bed. They noticed that the maids had changed the sheets so they slipped in and laid down together, carefully laying their daughter on her back.

They noticed a little patch of brown hair on her, and she cooed as her parents snuggled close to her to keep her warm. She smiled at the both of them and cooed. Merlin chuckled, "You're so beautiful" He caressed her head, "She is so perfect, I'm so happy" He looked up at Arthur and kissed him, "Me too, she's our daughter"

Maree then yawned with the cutest little sounds, and clung onto Merlin. "Sleep time" Merlin said, holding her gently and Arthur scooted up close. "Goodnight Merlin, Maree" He kisses them both.

They all fell asleep together soundly, and Arthur woke up to Merlin's golden eyes watching their little girl as she held onto his finger.

"Mrln….what are you doing?"

"My magic seems to be connecting with her, ah" He noticed, "Your eyes are golden too, so are Maree's" Merlin smiled, "They look beautiful, your eyes"

Maree cooed as she smiled, the blanket still covering her lower half of her body. Merlin got out their camera and took a photo of Arthur with his golden eyes and then another one with Arthur their daughter in his arms. "Beautiful, she is so cute" He flapped the photo and gave it to Arthur, "Wow, my eyes are gold" He stared at the photo for a while before looking at their cute daughter and smiling.

"Arthur" Merlin said and Arthur snapped to his attention. "Yes?"

"Let's dress little Maree up and announce her birth to everyone, they will be so happy"

"Yeah. I have the perfect thing" He said and got up, he got dressed and pulled out one of the drawers to get out a long royal dress suited for Maree. "Here, Gwenivere made it for her" He showed it to Merlin.

"Oh Arthur, it looks beautiful. Let's try it on" He looked at Maree who gave a thankful smile, they put a nappy on and tried it on her which fit perfectly. "Brilliant, are you hungry?" Merlin asked and Maree nodded so he scooted close up to her so she can feed. She held onto him with her tiny fingers and sucked, Merlin felt uncomfortable but relaxed himself. \

Arthur patted her head, "This is so cute, I just love this view"

After feeding Maree, they all got dressed in their royal clothes before Merlin gave Maree to Arthur, as he held her in his arms they went out to the courtyard to see their audience awaiting their announcement. No one knows about the birth or about Merlin being the Mother, they are sure that they will tell soon but now they want to celebrate their princess's birth.

"Citizens of Camelot and all of England, we have come here today to you to announce the birth of Princess Maree Emrys Pendragon"

Surprised faces rose on all of the people and applause and cheers rose, and Maree smiled in her Father's arms at the sun that rose up, happy to see it again for a second time in her life.


	17. Chapter 17 - I do

Everything had been arranged perfectly, Arthur and Merlin were woken up first thing early in the morning and taken to separate rooms to get set up for their wedding and the whole city was terribly busy like it was Arthur's crowning to be King again. Maree was accompanied by Gwen as she had to get dressed as well and all of the Hogwarts students were excited when they all got up and looking forward to the special breakfast after the wedding. The priests were busy as they had to prepare Merlin's new crown for King Consort, Arthur also asked to do the wedding for them as well as they stood and did their vows. As Merlin and Arthur got dressed by the servants and maids, they practised their vows on the tip of their tongues.

Uther, Ygraine Pendragon, Hunith and Balinor flew into the grounds of Camelot and people were almost startled but recognised them. Mordred welcomed them into the castle gates as both sets of parents were eager to see their sons. Their mothers both had tears in their eyes.

"Merlin" Hunith spoke as she entered Merlin's room. Merlin was still doing his handcuffs but stood still nothenless. "Mother" He turned his head to her.

"Son" Arthur heard his Fathers voice.

"Father, do you mind, I am still in my underwear! I swear, people don't knock these days. They easily pick up Merlin's bad habits round here"

Ygraine laughed heartily but Arthur just blushed.

"Well, I am surprised by the number of servants that are tending to you Arthur. They must do their job well"

"Better than you think Father. It is very different than all of those centuries ago" Arthur smirked. "Better warm water, softer clothes, a rather large and yummy range of foods, plenty of room and warmth, even all of the servants have their own rooms in the castle so the place is a hundred times happier with everyone smiling, so jobs are done well without a concern" He catches a smile from one of the servants and smiles as well. "Camelot is the happiest place on earth, especially with Merlin and myself around, so I think we are going to be homesick when we go out for our honeymoon"

Uther smiled at his son, "I see, you've made us all proud. Including myself"

Arthur smiled back. "I can't wait to see Merlin, I wonder what he's going to be wearing" His smile spreading across his cheeks just from imagining it.

"You are all ready your majesty" A servant said to Merlin, the man had his eyes closed the entire time when he was dressed up. When he opened his eyes, he gasped.

He knew that Arthur was responsible for the designs but he had never saw it, this? This? His whole outfit was entirely out of gold, a tree was imprinted throughout the whole thing containing pink, red, orange and red leaves. It looked like Yggdrasil, the tree of life, the Mother of magic, the earth, water and air which entirely described Merlin's entire being. He almost cried, he knew he wasn't entirely human but this meant that Arthur loved the whole of him anyway. He laughed to himself.

"Tree hugger" He said before a servant put a red cape on him that bare the Camelot symbol.

Camelot was overcrowded, citizens watched onward on TV to see what is going on and beyond in many different countries.

Arthur went down the aisle to get to the top of the steps with his Father, approaching Gary who will do the wedding and nodded to him. He turned around to face the door that Merlin will come through.

In the middle of the great hall sat the round table where Arthur is hopeful to engrave Merlin's name under King Consort. His and Merlin's Mother sat in chairs at the front row along with Gwen, Elliot, Mordred and his best Knights. On the sidelines were camera crews filming the whole thing with Mike in charge.

He waited, till the grand piano started playing, at that, his heart jumped and everyone stood. His eyes looked straight at the door when they opened, it felt painfully slow when the doors took their time to open but when he saw Merlin he couldn't stop his own jaw from dropping. "Merlin" he gasped.

"Arthur" Merlin immediately smiled and Arthur chuckled, smiling back and they couldn't help but run to each other and pull them both into a big hug. "Oh Merlin, you are absolutely beautiful"

Merlin's eyes trailed down Arthur's own outfit, his own outfit was mostly red and like Merlin's own, it resembled Arthur, it had an enormous red dragon spread across his entire outfit showing the King he is and wore a gold cloak. He looked up to Arthur and stroked his cheek, "You look handsome" he said which made Arthur crack a smile.

"Come on, let's get up the aisle" Arthur took his hand and started taking him up the aisle where Balinor joined them. Taking each other's hands, they looked at each other and then at Gary, and nodded.

"Emrys and the Once and Future King," he said, then, "King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot. Lord Merlin, Kingmaker"

"You are together here, today, by your own will and the will of the earth. Destiny itself has placed you by each other's sides. Your own desires, hopes, and strengths, have brought you to this moment."

"In this union, as every union, we will recognize the voices of those who feel attrition against this couple. You may speak, and your voices will be heard." Gary waited for a moment, but of course, no one would dare speak out against the wedding of their king, even if they truly held a grievance against the union. Still, Merlin tensed and passed a quick look over the crowd. Arthur squeezed his hands in reassurance. "Then we now ask the land. Our mother, giver of life, in union with her beloved in the sky and her brother in the sea. If you would speak out against this union, we beg you to guide us now."

A sheer silence followed his words, everyone blessed their love so Gary proceeded on.

"A blessing beyond any we have ever seen," He said and they both smiled at each other.

"The world blesses this union. Albion has chosen its kings."

Gary smiled at the both of them. "Please repeat after me, Your Highness." Arthur turned to the old man. "In body, we are two. In heart, we are one. In soul, we were never, and shall never, be parted." Arthur said the words, voice loud and clear. It carried out, the birds lowering their din to the same slight sounds they'd made before the earth had made its own voice known. "On this day, in this moment, I offer you that which will never be given to another. My strength. My sword. My heart. My life. It is you I place above all others. You I love above even my mother Earth. As it is now, in this once, so it shall be, in our future".

"Merlin" Merlin turned to Gary next, "Please repeat after me, in my body, my magic, my entirety within my immortal life, we shall never ever part through the ages and beyond". Merlin said the words loud and clear for everyone to hear, his heart fluttering, he felt like crying but a sheer happiness took over the feeling. "On this day, in this moment, I offer you that which will never be given to another. My strength. My magic. My heart. My life. It is you I place above all others. As it is now, in this once, so it shall be, in our future".

"Do you, then, King Arthur Pendragon, take Sir Merlin, Emrys, as your king consort and chosen mate, your lost half, to act as your soul's beacon, in this life, and all others?" Gary asked.

"I do."

"And do you, Lord Merlin, take King Arthur Pendragon as your king and chosen mate, your lost half, to act as his soul's beacon, in all ages of your eternal life?"

"I do."

Then Mordred stood up from the sidelines holding a small pillow that held their engagement rings that Arthur crafted by heart and brought it over. Merlin gasped at the shiny golden rings and his heart brimmed with happiness as Arthur put a ring on his finger. _It fit's, it fit's so perfectly._

Then Merlin got Arthur's ring and put it on Arthur's ring finger after Merlin bowed and departed from the aisle. They both held hands to feel the rings rub against their fingers.

"Then, by Albion's decree and by my life as her humble servant, I pronounce you both mated and wed. May your union bring happiness to you and all you love, and may the earth bless you always. You may now seal your vows on each other's lips"

They took each other into their arms and kissed, gaining loud applause from the crowd and outside Camelot, then the applause turned into cheers. Then they smiled at each other, happily married. Finally.

Then the applause and cheers died down when Mordred came back up again, this time, with a crown. Merlin kneeled down and Arthur took off Merlin's Kingmaker crown and put it down on a pillow that Mordred had another hand and turned back to Merlin with the new crown.

"Merlin Pendragon, I shall court you, King Consort" He placed the crown on Merlin's head and they again touched each other's hands to lift Merlin up and they turned to the crowd.

"Long live King Merlin!" Arthur called out, and Camelot roared.

"Long live King Merlin! Long live King Arthur!"

And they certainly will.


	18. Chapter 18 - A Dream come True

Merlin and Arthur left Maree in Gwen and Mordred's care when they happily took their car to go onto their honeymoon, they wanted to go up further than London and settle in a big town. They didn't want anything special like flying over to a small island and staying there for two weeks in an expensive hotel, they wanted to go someplace where they can enjoy themselves and blend in with people. Just have fun together before flying to other countries to explore their Kingdom's regions.

Excitement filled them both, and when their car hit the driveway, they started shredding their clothes and put on some comfortable modern ones that they liked to wear, Merlin put on a pair of boots and kept his usual neckerchief on while Arthur put on some vans.

"You look good" Arthur said, and smiled at the neckerchief. "You never leave without it" and Merlin smiled back, "Back at you Arthur"

"I will make sure that our wedding outfits get looked after"

"Please do" Merlin said before pulling him into a hug as he couldn't stop smiling, Arthur lifted his crown off his head and put it on a surface behind their chairs along with Merlins, putting them close together where they can see them. "My King Consort" Arthur smiled at Merlin as he wrapped his arms around him.

"We did it, we're married"

"We are" Arthur plants a kiss on Merlin's forehead. Then he lays them both down on the chairs, cuddling together, they both had tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces.

"I love you Merlin"

"I love you too Arthur"

It was night until they reached their destination, but they didn't care, they had spent the day looking out the same window, cuddling and kissing without a care in the world. The room they chose was to their liking, the biggest bed, a fireplace across from it, a kitchen, dining table, lounge room and a bathroom with a huge tub.

"What shall we do first?" Merlin asked. "I could draw a bubble bath"

"Bubble bath it is, I'll set the fire so our room is warm" Arthur went out to their bedroom and Merlin turned the taps immediately and put in the plug. He found some bubble mixture and put some in the water, stirring the water, he waited until the water was filled and full of bubbles, a mountainous amount filled the bath.

"Whoa, that is a lot Merlin" Arthur commented as Merlin turned off the taps and they stripped down to get in. "Perfect temperature as always Merlin" He smirked, "On the spot" They both sighed in relief as they settled in together, Merlin settling in between Arthur's legs and resting his head against his shoulder.

"It's been a wonderful day Arthur, perfect"

Merlin smiled as Arthur put a hand on his belly to feel their child. Merlin smiled at the feeling of his hand on his belly and smiled even wider. "Have you checked our child yet?" He asked.

"You have, so I have settled since you have been reporting it to me that he is perfectly healthy"

Arthur looked at Merlin's face to try and judge what he may be saying across his face, then he sensed something. "What is it Merlin?"

Merlin traced Arthur's chest with his finger, smiling. "Two boys"

Arthur's eyes shot wide, "What?"

"We're having twins Arthur"

There was a deep silence before he spoke, "Oh my god"

"There was a visible bump at two months Arthur, it seemed possible to me, but I didn't think it would be real. We are having two princes"

Arthur gasped, "I didn't think that we would have….two boys"

"We dreamed of having one, but we are having two. Isn't it amazing?"

Arthur nodded, breathless, wordless. "It's a dream come true"

PART 3: s/12512257/1/Arthur-s-Awakening-PART-3-Hogwarts-Days


	19. Requests?

Hello everyone!

I'd like to thank everyone that has read through PART 1 and 2 so far, next is Merlin and Arthur's honeymoon.

I am excited, but I have a writers block and so I am slow to write out their chapters of their honeymoon, so, I need you guys to help me:

Do you have any thoughts or ideas? Any fluff or requests that you would like to see happen between the two? I would happily would like to add them in as they do trigger some good ideas to keep the series going and I would really appreciate it!

I do have one so far...I got it from a super annoying relative. Typical.


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